Rock Solid
by Up In Arms100
Summary: ON HIATUS the team is back working for the B.P.R.D. and get called in to deal with a series of troll attacks on civilians, but when they arrive at the scene they are met with unconscious trolls and a frightened young woman. Abe/OC  post HBII
1. The Situation

**A/N: PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! Yes I am well aware of the fact that I should be working on Meet Your Match but this got stuck in my head and it won't leave me the hell alone. My first time writing for Hellboy, so please be nice. Set 3 months after the Golden Army Abe/OC, HB/Liz, Johan/No one. **

**Summary: the team is back working for the B.P.R.D. and gets called in to deal with a series of troll attacks on civilians, but when they arrive at the scene they are met with unconscious trolls and a frightened young woman. Who is Roxanne Stryker and what does she have to do with the trolls? 3 months post-movie**

**(Pointless) Disclaimer: I obviously don't own anything; if I did Nuala wouldn't have died.**

**Chapter 1: The Situation **

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**B.P.R.D. 2:00pm**

It was a typical and (fairly) quite June day at the B.P.R.D. for the freaks who resided there. Dr. Johan Krauss was in his lab buried deep in his latest ectoplasmic breakthrough, Hellboy and Liz were in their room arguing over baby names, and Abraham Sapien was in his tank working out the design for a spray that would allow him to remain above water for extended periods of time without his respirator, on water-proof blueprints. Yes all was well until the mission alarm cut through the air.

The team had gathered in the meeting room and taken their seats when the doors burst open and Manning walked in. He handed each of the four agents a file, pulled up a map of the east coast on the monitors and began to speak.

"In the past month there have been eight attacks by trolls on civilians. The trolls are attacking at night in groups of three, on civilians who are alone and killing them. There is no specific pattern in the attacks-"

"Actually, there is." Abe said cutting off Manning. "All of the victims are females between the ages of twenty and twenty five, have short brown hair, and green eyes. They all appear to be around the same height too. I think the trolls are looking for someone." Everyone looked at the pictures of the victims in their files and saw Abe was right, as always.

"Yes thank you for pointing that out agent Sapien but we believe the appearances of the victims are only a coincidence." Said Manning irritated at being interrupted. "Now, the attacks-"

"Like Hell they are!" interrupted Hellboy. "Honestly Manning I know yer an idiot but I didn't know yer this stupid!"

"Hey-!" Manning started to say but was cut off again this time by Liz.

"I think Abe's right. Eight killings of girls that all look the same and each attack is done by a group of three trolls, they're obvious looking for someone."

"Now just wait a min-" Manning began but was cut off by Abe once again.

"I also have another concern, trolls are not known for being smart and this is all very organized. I don't think _they _are looking for the girl, I think they are _working_ for someone who wants to find and or kill the girl."

"So not only do we need to find this girl, but we gotta find the guy who the trolls are workin' for?" Hellboy asked. "Well this outta be fun."

"Vell it's goving to be a bit more complicated zan zat Agent Hellboy." Said Johan. He began to continue when Manning slammed his hand down on the table.

"I am in charge here!" He shouted. "So the four of you need to listen to me. This is all speculation, you have no way to prove anything that you're saying so let's stick what we know shall we?" He cleared his throat and began again.

"Now, the attacks are moving. The first was in Buffalo New York, the second in Rochester, and they have been continuing in an Eastward direction with the most recent yesterday in Springfield Massachusetts." He said gesturing to the eight red dots on the map.

"As the attacks have been moving east they have become more frequent, there have been three attacks in the past three days. We don't know what's going on but were expecting another attack either later today or early tomorrow. We're currently monitoring a two hundred mile radius from the attack in Springfield yesterday. If we see any trolls moving in groups of three or anything else suspicious we're going to mobilize and send you four to check it out. You all need to be ready to leave at a moment's notice when it happens. Dismissed." He then turned off the map, picked up his file and walked out leaving the four agents behind.

"Manning's an idiot." Liz said getting to her feet and walking towards the door.

"You're just realizing this now?" Hellboy asked his voice full of sarcasm as he followed his girlfriend.

"Yes, Yes. Ve all agree zat Manning is not very bright, but I do zink zat zer vill be another attack soon. Ve should all go and get ready for ze mission." Johan said.

"I agree with Dr. Krauss." Said Abe. "If any of you need me I'll be in the library getting ready." He then turned and walked toward the library. Hellboy and Liz then walked toward their room and Johan went to his.

* * *

**B.P.R.D. 8:00pm**

The Mission alarm cut through the silence for the second time that day at the B.P.R.D. and Agents; Hellboy, Sherman, Sapien and Krauss had been waiting for it to go off for six hours. The four quickly made their way from their various rooms and met up in the garage where Manning was waiting by the truck while several Agents went about making sure everything was ready for departure.

"We've spotted three trolls skulking around in Danbury so were sending you four down to find out what they're up to." The four agents piled into the truck and settled down for the ride. The car ride was short and within forty five minutes they pulled into the town. The truck pulled into an abandoned parking lot and the four occupants in the back were let out. An agent by the name of Hawthorn came up them and handed Abe a satellite image of three trolls walking through the parking lot they were now standing in.

"This was taken a few minutes ago." He said. "The trolls then walked through the lot and down that side street." He gestured to a small street off to the right of the truck. "They can't have gotten far so you four go down there and see what you can find. The rest of us will be patrolling the area within a mile and running satellite sweeps. Everyone ready?" He asked. The four nodded their heads. "Alright then let's sync communicators and get underway." After syncing Agent Hawthorn spoke into the mike on his jacket cuff.

"Hawthorn to command, sending in Red, Blue, Doc, and Sparky." He then nodded and Red, Liz, Abe, and Johan began to walk down the side street. Abe led the group moving his bare hand back in forth through the air.

"What'da ya got Blue?" Hellboy asked around a cigar butt.

"The trolls continued down this street, and they picked up speed here, and then turned into the alley ahead not one minute ago." Said Abe gesturing to an alley fifteen yards away. Just then a series of loud crashes and a scream came from the alley Abe pointed to. Hellboy drew his Samaritan at the same time Liz drew her 9mm. Sig Sauer, while Abe took out the handgun Liz had convinced-forced-him to carry a moment later, and Johan tightened his hold on the canary cage in his hand. The four ran to the alley and moved aside quickly as a troll was thrown from the shadows and collided with the brick wall behind them and the sounds of fighting continued.

"Another day on the job." Said Hellboy as the four cautiously entered the alley.

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**AN: so what do you guys think? I'll try to update as often as I can but I have finals next week and my teachers are piling on projects, plus I have another ongoing story that DESPERATELY needs un update. My first Hellboy story so don't be too mean and I hope no one was to OOC. REVIEW PLEASE! IT MAKES MY DAY!**


	2. Meet Roxanne Stryker

**A/N: so here's the second chapter. It's been edited mostly for small grammatical mistakes and a little bit's been changed but not much. **

**(Stupid) Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**Chapter 2: Meet Roxanne Stryker**

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As the team entered the alley weapons drawn the fighting and what sounded like rocks grinding against each other continued. They had only taken ten steps in when all sounds of struggling stopped. Liz then lit one of her hands so the team could see through the darkness and the sight that greeted the team shocked them all. Two trolls were unconscious on the ground and a young woman was kneeling next to them. At seeing the trolls unconscious Johan put down the canary cage he had been holding. When the fire ignited in Liz's hand the young woman's head snapped up and she quickly stood and took a defensive stance while what appeared to be a large fixed-blade knife appeared in her right hand.

"Stay back!" she growled the shadows covering her features.

"Listen kid," Hellboy said. "You really think yer gonna be able to take us down with that little knife of yers?" Then Liz made the fire in her hand grow larger lighting up alley so the girl could be seen completely. She was in her early twenties, her light brown hair in a pixie style cut, had bright green eyes and some small scars on her face, neck, and hands from what they could see but not so many that they marred her features. She was wearing a battered old leather jacket, a black t-shirt, tattered jeans, and black leather combat boots. She looked exactly like the other eight victims.

"Easily." The girl shot back with a scowl. Just then the barrels of Red's Liz's and Abe's guns bent in half turning them into useless hunks of metal. While her body language showed confidence and determination Abe caught the almost unnoticeable tremor in her voice and the look in her eyes that clearly said she was afraid.

"That's it!" Hellboy said taking a step towards the girl, but Johan flung out an arm and stopped him.

"Agent Hellboy vait." He said. "She is only acting defensively because she is afraid."

"He's right red." Liz agreed. She then turned her attention to the girl. "Don't worry," she said in a calming tone. "Were not going to hurt you."

"Yeah right." The girl sneered. "You might not hurt me, but you're going to bring me back to him and he will. Well guess what, I spent eight years in that hell hole and I am _not _going back!" Abe knew they needed to calm the girl down and fast.

"Honestly Miss, I think you have us confused with another group of people. We're actually here to help you." He said. To emphasize his point he put what was once his gun on the ground and held his hands up. Liz quickly followed his example and after elbowing Red in the ribs he dropped his gun. "See? We would just like to talk and explain the situation."

"I'm listening." The girl said not dropping her stance or her knife.

"We work for a government agency called the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, or B.P.R.D. We deal with monsters and other paranormal beings and keep their contact with modern civilization as minimal as possible. We've received eight reports of troll attacking and killing civilians so when we spotted three trolls walking around Danbury we decided to come and get them before they could attack anyone. But when we got here we found you."

"If you work for the government let me see your badges." The girl said. All four agents quickly showed her their new I.D.'s but she still seemed slightly wary. "Alright so let's say I decided to believe you. What happens then?"

"Well Miss, we would like you to accompany us back to our base so that we could find out why the trolls are attacking you and help you with your situation." Abe said.

"How do I know that those badges are real and that you're not lying?" She questioned.

"Give me your hand," Abe said taking a step forward with his right hand extended. "You'll be able to see for you self." She hesitated a moment but then walked over to Abe knife still in hand and placed her left hand against his. When their hands made contact the young girl stiffened and her eyes snapped shut. While Abe was sending her all of the information she wanted to know he found a stream of images and emotions passing through his mind.

Her name was Roxanne Stryker; she was twenty-three years old and had been taking care of herself since she was sixteen. Those were the only solid perceptions he could garner from her mind. Other than that he caught glimpses of her past: a loving home, rocks moving through the air around a laughing Roxanne, being ridiculed at school, a car crash, a funeral, a tall sinister man, and then most prevalent thing she had experienced: pain, incredible and excruciation amounts of physical and emotional pain.

The connection was cut short when Roxanne ripped her hand away from Abe's her breathing ragged, and small tears in her eyes and looking very vulnerable.

"I'm sorry." Abe said feeling like he had crossed a line. Roxanne shook her head.

"It's alright, and I believe you." She murmured. She then regained her composure and looked over the four in front of her. "My name is Roxanne Stryker." She said introducing herself to each of the agents who in turn gave them their names. As she walked over to shake hands with everyone Abe noticed her knife had disappeared.

"Well, now that we're not trying to kill each other I think that we should call in clean up N' head back." Hellboy then lifted his communicator to his mouth and began to speak. "Red to trash truck we got three trolls here for pick up."

"Right Red, where are you guys at?" came Hawthorn's voice over the communicator.

"Down the side street, in the alley to the right." He then re-lit his cigar and bent down to pick up what once was his Samaritan and scowled at it.

"Oh! Here let me fix those." Said Roxanne then the barrel of Hellboy's gun straightened out and the other two on the ground were lifted off the ground, corrected and returned to their owners. Hellboy was shocked for a moment then began to inspect his gun making sure it was in working order again.

"I thought you were Geokinetic?" Abe asked confused.

"I am." Roxanne said walking over to one of the alley walls and picking up a travelers backpack leaning against it.

"Wait, what's "Geokinetic" mean?" Helboy asked confused.

"I think it's like Pyrokinesis only for rocks, right?" Liz asked. Roxanne nodded.

"Yes, that's one way to put it. I can manipulate anything that is made of earth with my mind: dirt, rock, stone, sand, minerals. If it came from the earth I can control it. If I concentrate I can turn objects to stone, and I can sense earth in objects around me." She said.

"But that doesn't explain how ya bent our guns." Hellboy said.

"Zat's right, ze guns are made of metal. So how did you do zat?" Johan asked. Roxanne smiled slightly.

"Simple, what are your guns made of?"

"Steel." Liz answered.

"Correct, and what is steel made of?" she asked.

"Of course!" Abe said making the connection. "Steel and all other metals are just refined ores…"

"Vich come from ze earth and are ultimately rocks." Johan finished.

"Exactly. I can do gemstones too." Roxanne said with a grin. Just then a group of agents shined lights in to the alley and Hawthorn walked up to them.

"Great job guys, you can get back in the truck we'll clean up here." He said gesturing for an agent to get the two unconscious trolls into a transport truck.

"Actually we didn't do anything; by the time we got here she had already taken care of the trolls." Liz said gesturing to Roxanne. Hawthorn looked her over for a minute before addressing the team.

"She's coming back with us?" He asked.

"Yes." Abe answered.

"Manning won't like it." He said contemplatively.

"All the more reason to bring 'er!" Hellboy said grinning around his cigar. Hawthorn grinned back.

"That's what I was thinking. Alright guys go get in the truck." He turned his attention to Roxanne. "It's nice to meet you Miss…" He trailed off unsure of her name.

"Roxanne Stryker." She said shaking his hand. Hawthorn nodded and went to oversee the transport team while the team walked out of the alley.

"This way Miss. Stryker." Abe said pointing in the direction of the parking lot. Roxanne adjusted the straps on her backpack and followed Abe and the others into the lot and up to the truck. The back came down and while Hellboy, Liz, and Johan walked in and made themselves comfortable Abe noticed Roxanne tense up and remain unmoving in front of the ramp, her expression clouded. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright Miss. Stryker, you're safe now." The two then walked up the ramp and into the truck and Roxanne seemed to be in complete awe at all of the technology in the truck. "May I take you bag?" He asked snapping her out of her dazed state.

"huh? Oh! Yes, thank you Agent Sapien." She said with a blush handing Abe her bag.

"Please Miss. Stryker, call me Abe." He said in a kind voice. Roxanne blushed harder.

"Only if you call me Roxanne." She responded with a smile.

"Very well Roxanne, you can find a seat anywhere."

"Thanks Abe." She then sat down in the far corner of the truck, pulled her legs up onto the seat, pulled something out of her right sleeve and began to fiddle with it in her lap. Moments later Agent Hawthorn came by and told the team they were ready to leave. He then closed the back, and climbed into the front as the truck began to move. Abe took a seat not too far from Roxanne and watched her as she continued to fiddle with what she had pulled out of her sleeve. From what he had seen of her past she was very bright and he found that he wanted to get to know her better. _This is going to interesting. _He thought as the truck hit the freeway and headed back towards the Bureau.

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**A/N: There's chapter two. BTW her last name is pronounced Strike-er. Thank you to everyone who added this to their alerts. PLEASE REVIEW! **


	3. Return to the Bureau

**A/N: **so here's chapter three. Thank you to those who reviewed and favorite!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

**Chapter 3: Return to the Bureau**

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When the garbage truck was only a few minutes away from the bureau its occupants began to get ready to exit the vehicle. Abe walked over to Roxanne who was still messing with whatever she had taken from her sleeve, with a frown on her face and a faraway look in her eyes.

"Roxanne?" Abe said quietly stepping closer. Roxanne's head snapped and Abe caught sight of a black fluid like substance shooting from her hand and back up her right jacket sleeve.

"Yes Abe?" she asked. Though he was very curious as to what had gone up her sleeve Abe decided to leave it be. For now.

"I just wanted to let you know that we will be arriving at the bureau within a few minutes and we should prepare to disembark." He said offering her her backpack.

"Thank you Abe." She said with a smile as she accepted the bag.

"I feel I should warn you though, our director Dr. Manning, he's very closed minded and stubborn. So there might be some slight problems when we first arrive."

"If my going with you causes problems for you all then I can leave. I have no problem with going." She said honestly. Abe was about to reply but was interrupted.

"If Manning has a problem with you staying then I'll have a talk with 'em." Hellboy said brandishing his stone hand with a grin as Liz and Johan came up behind him.

"Really I don't want to cause any trouble." Roxanne said.

"Nonsense Miss. Stryker. You vil be no trouble at all." Johan assured.

"Are you sure?" She asked looking at the four of them.

"Positive." Liz said with a warm smile.

"Well alright. How much longer do you think it will be until we arrive?" She asked. Abe then looked out the window and saw the truck was pulling through the bureau gates.

"We're here." He said. The others continued gathering their belongings when Abe noticed a wave of fear mixed with worry coming from his right. He turned his head and saw Roxanne, her posture ridged as she starred out the window.

"Roxanne." He said coming up behind her.

"Yes?" she asked turning to face him. Abe placed a kind hand on her shoulder and spoke.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes." She responded not meeting his gaze. He gave her a disbelieving look and she began to speak again.

"It's just that…" She sighed and ran a hand down her face before continuing. "The last time I was brought to facility like this it was under very depressing circumstances." Abe was about to ask what she meant when the truck began to reverse into the docking bay.

"Just come out behind me." Abe said looking over his shoulder at Roxanne. She nodded and shouldered her backpack facing the door with a confident look on her face. Then the back door lowered and the four agents and their guest stepped out and into the bureau. They had only taken a handful of steps before Dr. Manning rounded the corner walking towards them.

"Well it looks like you managed to bring them in so-"He then stopped in his tracks when he saw Roxanne. "Who the hell is that?" He asked glaring at the team before him. Abe was the first to speak.

"She is the one the trolls were attacking." He said.

"So you four just decided to bring a civilian to a top secret government facility?" He shouted his face getting red. "Couldn't you have just done a memory wipe and left her?"

"If we had left her there would just be more trolls and god knows what other monsters after her tomorrow." Liz said.

"How do we know she's the one the trolls are after? How do we know she doesn't just look like whoever the trolls are after?" Manning argued.

"Because I've had trolls and other monsters sent after me since I was sixteen years old." Roxanne said stepping forward.

"Oh really? You're all trying to tell me that a little girl like her has been fending off monsters _by herself _since she was sixteen? I highly doubt that." He said talking to the others as if Roxanne wasn't there.

"It is true Dr. Manning. By the time ve had arrived on ze scene Miss. Stryker here vas just finishing defeating ze trolls." Johan defended.

"How on earth could she possibly do that?" Manning said once again ignoring Roxanne's presence.

"Simple. She's got powers." Hell boy replied.

"What powers?" Once again Manning addressed the agents and Abe could feel the irritation coming from Roxanne, though when he looked back at her she was completely calm, her expression was blank as she stared at manning. A sudden jolt of movement and a yelp from behind him caused Abe to turn around and see that they were all floating in the air on a very large slab of black granite that had been pulled up from the floor.

"What the Hell is going on?" Manning shouted his voice high with fear as he clung to the granite. At this point Hellboy burst out laughing, Liz was trying to smother her laughter behind her hand, Johan was making an odd wheezing sound, and Abe lips twitched in what could be considered a smile for him. The rock floated in the air for a moment before slowly descending back down where it fell back into place as if it had never been moved.

"What was that?" Manning demanded looking at the agents in front of him. Just then Roxanne pushed past the four that had formed an unconscious barrier between her and Manning.

"_That_ Dr. Manning, was a very small demonstration of my power. You see, I'm Geokinetic. I can manipulate earth with my mind." To prove her point she raised her right hand from behind her back and a small chunk of the floor floated up to rest in her palm. It then fluidly twisted itself around her hand and in between her fingers before coming to rest back in her palm where it began to form various shapes and designs: a star, a rose, a music note and more. The rock then left her hand and rejoined the floor as she placed both of her hands behind her back looking at the stunned Manning. Abe was shocked; this was not the same scared girl they found in the alley nor was it the worried one he had watched in the truck. This girl seemed confident, and completely relaxed. He reached out slightly with his mind to feel Roxanne's emotions and found that she was still frightened and worried, but she was masking those feelings and projecting the calm confidence everyone was seeing. He then remembered how in the alley she had regained her composure so quickly when she had looked close to tears_. Very interesting _He thought. Just then Manning seemed to regain his professionalism.

"I don't believe we've been introduced Miss. I'm Tom Manning Director of the B.R.P.D." He said extending his hand toward Roxanne becoming very polite suddenly.

"My name is Roxanne Stryker." She said shaking his hand.

"Stryker?" Manning asked. "As in the M1128 Stryker Mobile Gun System?"

"No, as in my father the late General Robert Stryker." She replied.

"Ah. So you said that the trolls are after you?" Manning said quickly changing the subject. Roxanne nodded. "Well considering how late it is you'll have to give your statement tomorrow or the day after depending on how busy we are. Until then you can stay in one of the spare rooms." He then turned toward Abe.

"Abe, show her the spare room next to yours and give her a tour." He then addressed everyone again. "Good night." He spun around on his heel, walked down the hall and disappeared around the corner. As soon as he was out of earshot Hellboy started snickering.

"That was great kid! I haven't seen Manning that scared in years!" He said clapping Roxanne on the shoulder. Roxanne shrugged.

"I don't like it when people talk about me as if I'm not right in front of them." She said with a mischievous smile.

"Still, I don't think he was that scared when he first saw me using my powers." Liz said with a smile, warping an arm around her boyfriend.

"Vell he knew vat you could do and vas probably expecting you to use them Agent Sherman." Johan put it.

"Right, well why don't we all go down to the kitchen and get something to eat?" Abe suggested. Everyone agreed and the five set out for the kitchen. When they arrived Hellboy said that he was going to let the cook know they were ready to eat, took off his trench coat and slung it over the back of a chair before walking through a pair of silver doors into the kitchen. He came back a minute later and took his seat at the large circular table with Liz on his right, Abe on his left, Johan to the right of Liz and Roxanne who took the seat between Abe and Johan placing her backpack under her chair. Abe noticed that when she sat down she moved to take off her jacket but then stopped suddenly.

"Would you like me take your Jacket?" Abe asked.

"No thank you Abe." She said with a polite smile. He nodded and from the corner of his eye noticed Roxanne fold her arms over her chest slightly, place her right hand protectively over her left bicep. Apparently though, Abe was the only one who noticed the odd gesture. _She's hiding something, _Abe thought _but what? _

"It's great not being confined to our rooms all the time now." Hellboy said leaning back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head. He then looked over at Roxanne. "So kid, why don't you tell us why those trolls were after you?"

"Well-" She began, but was quickly cut across by Liz.

"I don't think now's the best time to talk about that Red."She said as she absently placed a hand on her growing stomach.

"Alright then. Why don't you tell us about that "Hell hole" you said you spent eight years in when we were back in the alley?" Red tried. Roxanne opened her mouth again to reply when she was interrupted for the second time.

"Red, That topic is highly inappropriate for the current time and place, even more so than the one you already tried to bring up. It's wrong for you to ask such a personal question." Oddly it was Abe and not Liz who spoke. Hellboy was clearly shocked at the response his friend gave but realized he was right. So turning to Roxanne he spoke.

"Uhh, sorry I guess. They're right it's not any of my business." He said awkwardly.

"It's perfectly alright." Roxanne replied with a smile. "The answers to both those questions are one in the same, and I have no problem sharing them with you four, but it's a fairly lengthy story and I don't believe now is the time for it."

Red was about to start talking again when the doors to the kitchen opened and two large carts of food pushed by two kitchen assistants in white uniforms emerged, followed by a short ageing man in a black chef's uniform.

"Good evening everyone!" he announced cheerfully. "When Hellyboy told me we were having a guest tonight I had to come and see it for myself!" He said smiling kindly at Roxanne who gave a slight smile back. "Good evening madam, I am Chef Wayne Scott, the head chef here at the B.P.R.D." He said with an extravagant bow.

"Hello Chef Scott, I'm Roxanne Stryker." She replied extending her right hand to him.

"And what a pleasure to meet you it is Miss. Stryker!" He said accepting the offered hand but instead of shaking it he gave it a large kiss. Relinquishing her hand Chef Scott then turned to address everyone as the Kitchen assistants began to distribute plates of food.

"For Hellboy, Liz, and Miss. Stryker we have Filet Mignon with Garlic mashed potatoes and Pepsi to drink." As he spoke a very large plate containing the aforementioned food with a bucket sized cup of soda was placed in front of Hellboy who cheered, and much smaller plates and cups with the same contents were set in front of Liz and Roxanne.

"For Abe we have the finest rotten eggs that could be found." A small bowl with two rotten eggs was set down before Abe.

"And for Johan your ectoplasm supplement." A jar filled with a white swirling gas and a hose attached to it was then given to Johan.

"If any of you need anything just let us know. Bon Appétit!" Chef Scott said with a flourishing wave of his hands before turning and following the cart pushing assistants back into the kitchen. When the kitchen doors slammed shut. Roxanne turned to look at everyone else who had amused looks on their faces.

"Is he always so…Exuberant?" she asked.

"Mo, mes ust uh fow mof." Hellboy said with his mouth full of food.

"It's impolite to talk with your mouth full Red." Liz said as she began to cut up her steak.

"What I believe Agent Hellboy vas trying to say is that Chef Scott enjoys sho-ving off and since he hardly gets ze chance to, he vas very excited about it tonight. Am I correct in vat you ver trying to say Agent Hellboy?" Hellboy nodded and continued to shove food in his mouth when he noticed Roxanne was the only one who haden't touched her food yet.

"Hom mon hid, het hup. Ets ot unna ite." He said with his mouth full yet again.

"Red quit talking with your mouth full." Liz reminded becoming exasperated.

"Anyone care to translate?" Roxanne asked.

"I will." Abe said as he put down one of his eggs. "He asked why you haven't started eating yet. Is there something wrong with the food?"

"Hi idnt tay at!" Red Shouted almost spraying Abe with half chewed food.

"Red!" Liz shouted. "Stop talking with your mouth full! This is the third time I've had to tell you, are you five or something?" She asked aggravated. Hellboy swallowed his food and grinned at his girlfriend.

"Maybe." He replied. Liz opened her mouth to speak but Hellboy quickly cut across her.  
"And I didn't say what Abe said I did, he was putting words in my mouth."

"I don't see how he could put anything in your mouth considering how much food was in it." Liz muttered with a small smile. Hellboy shot his girlfriend a glare before continuing.

"What I said was; 'Come one kid, eat up. It's not gonna bite.'"

"Oh there's nothing wrong with the food and I'm going to eat it, I was just thinking." Roxanne said.

"Think later, eat now." Hellboy said before shoveling more food into his mouth.

"What were you thinking about?" Abe asked ignoring Hellboy's comment.

"That it's been a long time since I've seen food this good and, that no one's been this kind to me in an even longer time." She said as she began to eat.

"Just don't let Scotty-Boy hear you talk about his food like that, his head's already big enough." Hellboy said with a smile.

"Abe, Johan do you mind if I ask you guys something?" Roxanne questioned.

"Of course not." Abe said with an idea of what she was going to ask.

"Ask avay my dear." Johan replied also knowing what she was going to ask.

"Please don't get offended but…Why is it that you two are given what was given to you?"

"You see my dear," Johan said. "My suit is filled vith my essence mixed with ectoplasm, and occasionally ze ectoplasm needs to be replenished." He then popped open the cap on his finger and attached the hose to it, and the mist from the jar traveled into his suit. When he finished Abe began to speak.

"I eat two rotten eggs every day because when I was found it was the only thing I found appetizing. Now I can eat normal food, I just prefer eggs." Roxanne nodded as she processed the new information. The rest of dinner was quiet and uneventful and when everyone was done they thanked Chef Scott and left the Kitchen.

"Well it's pretty late so Liz and I are gonna go to bed. Night guys." Hellboy said as he and Liz walked off toward their room hand in hand.

"I vill also be returning to my room now. Good night Agent Sapein, Miss. Stryker." Johan then did an about face and walked away.

"Well Roxanne why don't I show you to your room?" Abe asked Roxanne.

"Alright Abe, lead the way." She said picking up her backpack from the floor. Abe then began to walk down the hallway leading Roxanne to her new room. They were just about to round a corned when two FBI agents came running around the corner and one slammed into Roxanne knocking her backpack out of her hand and almost sending her crashing to the floor with it. "Sorry!" He shouted as he ran off after the other now laughing agent.

"Those two are constantly racing each other and one of them always runs into something." Abe muttered. Abe looked over at Roxanne who was now kneeling on the floor next to her backpack with its contents sprawled all over the floor.

"I'm so very sorry about that, those two are highly trained FBI agents but they act like school children." Abe apologized as he knelt down to help her gather her belongings.

"No harm done." Roxanne said with a shrug as she stuffed several articles of clothing into the bag. As Abe helped Roxanne he noticed that a vast majority of her belongings were books. They were mostly fantasy/sci-fi books but he spotted a few poetry and adventure books, there was even a small survival guide. When saw a small picture frame face down on the ground near him Abe worried that it may have been damaged. When he picked it up he found that the glass had shattered and the metal frame had a crack in it. He then took a moment to look at the picture itself. After only a moment it was clear to Abe that he was looking at a picture of Roxanne and her family.

The picture had four people in it: a man and a woman who had an arm wrapped an arm around each other, the man's right hand was resting on the shoulder of a young Roxanne who was standing in front of him, and she was hugging a little boy wearing glasses to her with her left arm. They were all standing in the woods in front of a large tent with smiles on their faces. As Abe examined the picture he notices the facial resemblance between Roxanne and the little boy made it painfully clear he was her little brother, even though he had the same sandy blond hair and blue eyes as the woman behind him, who Abe could tell was their mother. While it was clear Roxanne's brother favored their mother in looks it was blatantly obvious that Roxanne looked _exactly _like the man standing behind her; her father. They had the same light brown hair (Though his was graying slightly), piercing green eyes, facial appearance, and matching mischievous smiles. Abe recalled Roxanne telling Manning earlier that night that her father was a general, and even in a casual photo such as this it was clear through his posture, stance, and overall presence that he was a military man. Abe took all this in from the picture in about five seconds. Looking up he cleared his throat.

Roxanne?" He said quietly when she looked up from shoving one of the last books in her bag he held out the picture in its damaged frame to her. She took it from him and looked it over. "I'm sorry." He offered weakly. Abe was expecting Roxanne to mend the crack in the frame but was startled when the glass rose off the ground and re-assembled in front of Roxanne before sliding into place in the frame.

"How did you do that?" Abe questioned. "Glass is made up of mostly silicon, not sand." Roxanne smiled.

"True, glass is made up of mostly silicon, and I admit that if this was glass I would have a problem. But this," She said tapping the substance covering the picture. "This is quartz. I actually made sure I got a metal frame and a quartz covering for this picture just in case that happens." She said with a smile as she placed the picture in her bag and closed the top.

"That's very clever." Abe said standing up and helping her to her feet. "Now like I was saying, your room is right around the corner." The two began to walk and Abe led Roxanne to a dark oak door to the left of the large gold library doors. Abe opened the door and showed Roxanne around the large room.

"Obviously that's the bed, the bathroom is through there, the couch, T.V. and coffee table are there" he continued to point out the various areas of the room, and when he finished he saw Roxanne was emptying the contents of her bag into neat piles on the bed. He walked over to stand beside her.

"Would you like any help unpacking?" He asked.

"Sure, thanks Abe." She said with a smile. He then picked up a pile of books.

"Where do you want these?" He asked.

"Over on the table is fine." She said as she pulled several leather-bound notebooks out of her bag and placed them in the desk near the bed. Out of the corner of his eye Abe saw Roxanne walk over to the bed again, pick up a few articles of clothing and scowl at them. But before he could tell what they were she walked over to the dresser, opened the bottom drawer, shoved them in, and closed the drawer. As she walked back over to the bed he heard her mutter; "I have no idea why I even kept those."

Abe decided it would be best to ignore the comment. As Abe walked over to place more books on the table he noticed Roxanne had a very small amount of clothes, only two weeks' worth at the most_. Why would she have so many books and so little clothes? Don't most women prefer clothes to books?_ He thought. When he voiced the questions Roxanne smiled.

"Most women do prefer clothes to books Abe, but I'm not like most women. Those books are just a few of my favorites and I couldn't bear to leave them behind. So I packed two weeks' worth of clothing along with some other essentials, and jammed as many books into the bag as I could."

Abe understood Roxanne choosing books over clothes, because he would do the same. Though he was very curious as to where it was that Roxanne had left, and why she left he decided that was a topic for another time. Roxanne quickly finished unpacking by placing the picture of her family on the table next to her bed.

"Thanks for helping me unpack Abe." She said.

"You're welcome Roxanne." H e replied with a smile. "Do you need anything else?"

"No thank you, I'm fine." She said.

"Well if you should need anything my room is the one directly to your right." He said pointing to the far right wall.

"Alright, I'll see you in the morning Abe. Good night." She said with a smile.

"Good night Roxanne." He said walking out of the room and into his. When there he climbed into his tank and as the gentle waves lulled him to sleep he couldn't help but wonder when he was going to unravel the mystery that was Roxanne Stryker.

* * *

**A/N: at over 4,000 words this is by far the longest chapter I have ever typed for anything. It's about two to three times the size of a normal chapter and took three days to write so I hope you all enjoyed it. And for those of you who didn't know the M1128 Stryker Mobile Gun System (MGS) is a type of tank. Heres the link for those of you who want to see a few different pics. Just take out the spaces.**

**h t t p : / / w w w . o l I v e – d r a b . c o m / I d p h o t o / I d _ p h o t o s _ s t r y k e r . p h p**

**I freaking love this tank and want to own desperately! (I bet I'm one of the few sixteen-year old girls to say that.) Anyway enough of my ramblings! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	4. Pieces of the Mystery

**A/N: Holy crap I've been updating my stories like crazy lately, this is my fourth one in about two weeks! And I think one of my friends is ready to either rip her hair out or kill me for it. *snickers* I intended for this to be A LOT shorter than it is but one I started typing I couldn't stop. Seven days and four skipped assignments to type this guys! So feel loved! In this chapter we learn a bit more about Roxanne**

**If you haven't realized by this point that I don't own Hellboy I suggest you seek mental help.**

**Chapter 4: Pieces of the Mystery**

* * *

**B.P.R.D. Monday 7:30am **

Abe had always been an early riser and today proved no different. Today he could be found sitting at one of the desks in the library working on the same blue prints he had started yesterday. He had almost completed the chemical composition for the spray that would allow him to go without his respirator for longer periods of time, when Hellboy burst in through the library doors. This severely startled the Ichthyo Sapien because Hellboy was never up before nine at the earliest.

"Is everything alright Red?" He asked standing up.

"Huh? Yeah Liz just said I was taking up too much space on the bed and gave me the boot. And since there is _no _way I'm arguing with a pregnant woman who has easy access to a handgun I need somewhere else to crash for a few more hours. Can I sleep on one of the couches in here?" Hellboy asked.

"That's fine." Abe said returning to his work.

"What 'cha workin' on?" Hellboy asked as he walked over to Abe looking over his shoulder at the blueprints.

"Do you remember me telling you about a spray that will allow me to be out of water without my respirator for a long time?" Abe asked as he continued to balance the chemical equations on the papers in front of him.

"Yeah." Hellboy said.

"Well this is the design for that spray." Abe replied.

"How long have you been workin' on it?" Hellboy asked as he squinted at the various numbers and symbols.

"I started it yesterday and I'm finished as of right…now." Abe said finishing the last of the symbols.

"Cool Hellboy said lying down on one of the couches.

"Well, I'm going to go down to the lab and starting working with Agent Wright on these." Abe said walking toward the door, Hellboy giving him an affirmative grunt. When Abe arrived at the B.P.R.D.'s lab he was unsurprised to find that Agent Wright was the only one there. Agent Wright was a tall man with grey hair in a buzz-cut. He used to be an Admiral Chief of Naval Operations before he joined the FBI, where he became the head of the B.P.R.D.'s lab. In fact he was the one who helped Abe and Professor Broom design all of Abe's equipment.

"Hello Abe." He said looking up from a machine he was working on. "What can I help you with today?"

"I've finished the chemical make-up and basic designs for the spray." Abe said holding out the blueprints to the agent who took them.

"Excellent. Come over here and we can start working on the proto-type." Wright said leading Abe to a work table.

* * *

**9:45am**

Abe left the lab and headed back to the library with a feeling of accomplishment. Agent Wright and himself and been able to get a proto-type of the spray produced and the finished product would be ready sometime in the next two weeks. When he was walking up to the library doors he swore that he could hear the gentle sounds of a flute playing close by but before he could follow the sound he ran into Liz.

"Hey Abe, is Red in there?" She asked gesturing to the Library doors.

"Good Morning Liz, and yes he is. He came in early this morning and fell asleep on one of the couches." Abe said opening the doors.

"Sorry about that, but HB can be such a bed-hog sometimes." Liz explained as she walked over to her sleeping boyfriend with a small smile on her face.

"Not to worry Liz." Abe said waving his hand through the air as he put his copies of the blueprints and the small prototype away in his desk. Liz then gently shook Hellboy's shoulder trying to wake him. He didn't respond.

"HB," She said shaking him harder. "It's time to get up." He rolled over and batted her hand away.

"Red, get up!" She shouted.

"Who-the-wha-ma-na-fa-huh?" Red shouted jumping up into a fighting stance and brandishing a couch cushion in one hand over his head like a club as he looked around sleepily. At this Liz cracked up and Abe's lip twitched upward.

"What damage exactly do you intend to do with a pillow?" Liz asked once she had gotten over her bought of laughter. Hellboy dropped the pillow and gave his girlfriend a mock glare.

"Come on," Liz said taking his hand. "It's time for breakfast."

"Alright. You commin' Abe?" Hellboy asked his best friend.

"I'll be down in a moment; I just want to see if Roxanne's awake." He said. Hellboy then tilted his head to the side.

"Hey, do you guys hear music?" He asked.

"Yes actually, I heard it before Liz and I came in here." Abe acknowledged.

"It sound like it's coming from the other side of this wall." Liz said walking over to the far left wall.

"Well Roxanne must be awake then." Abe said causing Red and Liz to raise an eyebrow.

"That's her room." He elaborated gesturing to the wall.

"Okay, well we'll see you two in a bit then." Liz said taking Hellboy's hand and leaving the room. Abe left the library after refilling his respirator with water and walked over to Roxanne's door. As he approached it he confirmed that the music was in fact coming from the room. _That's odd._ Abe thought, _I don't recall seeing any CD's or music players when I helped her unpack, so where is the music coming from?_

Abe knocked on the door and all music from inside ceased with the door opening moments later by Roxanne.

"Yes? Oh, hey Abe." She said smiling. Abe took a moment to take in her appearance. She looked considerably well rested and was wearing black cargo pants, her boots, and a dark blue long sleeve shirt. But what Abe found most intriguing was that in her right hand she was holding a flute, and not an ordinary flute. This one was black and seemed to be made of some type of stone.

"Good morning Roxanne." Abe said. "That's an interesting instrument you have there." He said gesturing to the flute in her hand. He was then shocked to see the flute turn into the black liquid substance he recalled seeing yesterday and watched with fascination as it shot up her right sleeve as it did before.

"Huh? Oh!" Roxanne said blushing slightly. "Sorry, that's a reflex I guess." She said apologetically as the black substance came back down her sleeve and reformed the stone flute in her hand.

"Amazing." Abe murmured. "If you don't mind me asking, how do you do that? Does it meld into your skin?" He questioned.

"No." Roxanne said as she pulled up her right sleeve to reveal her tanned forearm with a few scars of various sizes on it.

"But then how…?" Abe asked trailing off gesturing to the flute. The flute then turned liquid again, ran up Roxanne's arm, wrapped around it and hardened into a bracelet that covered almost all of her forearm.

"Can you turn it into anything you want?" Abe asked still fascinated with Roxanne's abilities.

"Pretty much, it's granite so it's resilient enough to do pretty much anything." Roxanne said as she began to manipulate the stone. "Though mostly I turn it into the flute and my knife." Suddenly Abe understood how she had made her knife vanish and reappear so easily the night before. "Did you need something Abe?" Roxanne asked as the liquid rock resumed its place on her arm and she fixed her sleeve.

"Yes, it's time for breakfast and I thought I would show you down, then afterward I could give you a full tour of the bureau." Abe offered.

"Alright, let's go." Roxanne said as her and Abe made their way down the hall.

"How long have you been playing the flute?" Abe asked.

"My mom taught me the basics when I was around five, so about eighteen years." Roxanne responded.

"You're very good at it." Abe complimented.

"Thanks. But I'm not that good, I don't know any songs really; I mainly play melodies mom taught me and make stuff up as I go along." She said blushing

"Well then, you're good at making thing up as you go." Abe told her.

"Thanks." Roxanne said accepting the compliment with a slight smile. The two continued to talk about different music styles as until they reached the kitchen.

* * *

**11:35am**

After breakfast Abe had given Roxanne an in-depth tour of the B.P.R.D. He showed her everything from the Lab to Hellboy and Liz's room and everything in between. As they walked around he noticed that she took a particular interest in the gym/training center and recently added recreation room. The two were currently approaching the library.

"And this," Abe said laying a hand on the large golden doors. "Is the library." He then pushed the doors open with a flourish. It was his favorite room in the bureau and had purposely saved it for last on their tour. Roxanne stepped inside and he mouth dropped open.

"This is amazing! I've never seen so many books before!" Abe watched as she began to turn slowly on the spot taking in the room and stopped when she noticed the tank. "I'm guessing that's yours?" She asked. Abe nodded and opened his mouth to speak when the mission alarm sounded.

"What's that?" Roxanne demanded jumping slightly and taking a defensive stance her knife appearing.

"The mission alarm." Abe said. "It means Red, Liz, Johan and I are needed to deal with something." He explained at her questioning look. She dropped her stance and the knife disappeared again.

"Sorry." She said blushing. "I've just had to be constantly on edge for the past few years, I guess I'm a little jumpy."

"It's perfectly alright Roxanne, just follow me." Abe said leading Roxanne out of the library.

"I think I'll wait out here." Roxanne said once they had reached the meeting room. Abe nodded and the headed inside. Once inside Abe saw that Red, Liz, Johan and several other agents including Agent Wright were already there. Manning then proceeded to brief them that someone's idea of a joke was to let a dozen or so Imps lose in the local mall. It had already been cleared of civilians and they needed to get the little trouble makers out before they caused too much damage. Everyone then left to make sure their gear was ready and to get in the truck. When he left the room Abe spotted Roxanne leaning against the opposite wall her brow wrinkled in thought and her hands manipulating her piece of granite like clay.

"Roxanne?" He questioned and like always her head snapped up and the granite disappeared.

"Yes?" She answered. Abe then told her about their mission. "Would you like to come with? I'm sure no one would mind if you came to watch."

"No it's alright," Roxanne said. "I've dealt with Imps before and I'm not looking forward to seeing one again anytime soon. Tell everyone to be careful though, those little red pests don't look like much at a foot and a half tall but they have a nasty bite that injects a toxin which causes temporary paralysis, and or muscle spasms. It's non-fatal but the little nuisances think it's _soooo _very funny to watch a human twitch uncontrollably." She said the last sentence with a slight resentment in her voice. Abe wondered if it had ever happened to her.

"I will." Abe said taking in the new information with a slight nod. Hellboy then called for Abe to hurry up. "We'll be back sometime later today." Abe said as he walked off.

"Good luck." Roxanne called after him.

* * *

**7:10pm**

It has been several hours since the team left the Bureau and they were all fairly tired after corralling the fourteen Imps that had been released at the mall. As Abe was making his way to the library to freshen up before dinner when he decided to see how Roxanne was. Abe knocked on her door and was slightly shocked when there was no response. He probed inside the room with his mind and found no conscious thought inside. He then entered the library hoping she would be there, but when he stepped inside he immediately knew she wasn't. Abe then left the library and began to search the Bureau. After having check the meeting room, recreation room, kitchen, Hellboy and Liz's room, the lab, Johan's lab and still not finding Roxanne, to say Abe was worried was an understatement. As he walked down one of the hallways he heard something coming from the large steel doors to his right that led to the gym and training room. _Of course_. Abe thought. _She had mentioned wanting to take a look in here._

Abe pushed open the doors and walked inside looking around. He noticed there was no one in the gym. He looked to his left and found the door that led to the training room had been left open and he could clearly hear someone inside. When Abe arrived at the door he was pleased to see that it _was_ Roxanne in the room, but was surprised at what he found her doing. She was standing in front of the panel that held the settings for the obstacle course and she was currently setting everything to maximum difficulty. The B.R.P.D. course was unlike any other military obstacle course ever built; it was suspended high above the floor, was customizable and had a few "surprises" built into it to keep the agents on their toes. By removing his glove and touching the wall next to him Abe saw that Roxanne had been working out in the room for three hours only stopping a few times to get water and switch workouts. Normally agents had to be fully rested to get through the course with the settings on high, but Roxanne seemed perfectly content on doing it after being at work for three hours. Though she had been working out for so long the only difference Abe could spot between her appearance this morning and her appearance now was that she had rolled her sleeves up above her elbows. Hitting the button that began to arrange the obstacle course Roxanne walked over to the platform marked START and once she was standing on it four rails came up around her as the platform lifted into the air and locked into a series of suspended platforms and pathways. The rails around Roxanne lowered and she took a ready stance.

When the horn sounded Roxanne took off like a bullet for the first obstacle, the hurdles which began to raise and lower at random. Roxanne cleared the hurdles in seconds as if they were all at level heights. Next she headed for the swinging bridge-that had the rails removed-and crossed it with ease, but as she took the last few strides a large metal bar dropped down onto the bridge rocking it, but she seemed to have been expecting this because she jumped forward into a roll to avoid being hit. Standing from the roll she headed for the wall. She took a running jump and quickly grabbed onto the wall but it began to shake violently, so she quickly pulled herself up and jumped down when the wall collapsed completely. The next obstacle was a large ramp with a forty-five degree incline. She began to ascend the ramp and as she ran it began to get steeper and steeper until she jumped up and landed on the top as it became completely vertical. She then ran forward and toward the next obstacle; the spring board and jumped off of it, latching on to the cargo net that was angled toward her. As she began to climb the cargo net the bottom was set on fire. She quickly climbed over the top and rolled down the side avoiding the flames. She then grabbed the chain that she was _supposed_ to use to swing around the cylinder structure it was attached to and reach the next platform, but she pulled the chain taunt, placed her feet on the wall and ran around the structure. As she ran pieces of the wall punched outward in an attempt to hit her but she evaded them and jumped off the wall landing on the next platform. She was now faced with a series of small ramps that were suspended over open air and lined up in rows forming the outline of a pathway without a solid middle to walk on. The platforms then began to shift forwards and backwards rapidly.

Abe continued to watch with fascination seeing as how most agents had extreme difficulty getting this far and Roxanne looked only slightly tired. She then ran forward jumping off the edge and planting her foot on the first platform to her left; she pushed off and repeated the action with her right, and continued in this fashion, timing each move perfectly until she back flipped off the last one, dodging another falling metal bar and landing the platform. Abe was amazed at her agility. Roxanne had reached the final obstacle. An extremely long balance beam, with a rope at the end that was to be used to swing out and drop onto the padded platform marked FINISH. The room was so quite that if Abe breathed too loudly or his respirator bubbled, Roxanne would be alerted to his presence and the last thing he wanted right now was to spoil her concentration.

Roxanne took a deep breath, and let it out before she began to sprint towards the beam. She had only taken a few strides when a metal beam swung down toward her in an arc; she ducked as it flew over her and jumped over it when it came back toward her. She took off again and the beam split in half and the pieces began to move apart. Roxanne jumped the gap and continued to run. Then items of various shapes and sizes were shot from air cannons mounted in the wall to her left. As Roxanne ran she began to duck, jump, and flip, avoiding most of the projectiles but one clipped her leg causing her to lose her balance for a moment before regaining it and resuming he course. She had reached the end of the beam and her earlier slip up made her lose time because before she could swing out on the rope and drop to the platform, thin metal disks of assorted sizes were shot out from the walls blocking the finish. Roxanne couldn't just drop down to the platform from the rope, so when she grabbed the rope, took a running start and swung out, Abe got a feeling that something bad was about to happen. He was right. Roxanne swung out, but didn't let go of the rope when over the platform, the rope arced up taking Roxanne with it and she did a back flip off the rope. When she came down she landed on one disk for a moment before she began jumping and flipping from disk to disk while dodging the others. During a particularly complex move when she was performing a back flip and rotating sideways at the same time she ended up looking toward the door and saw Abe standing there. Her eyes widened and she jerked to the side throwing off her rotation causing two disks that were close together to slam into her left arm. Roxanne began to fall and Abe began to run. As she fell a few other disks clipped her slightly and it look as if she was going to fall the thirty feet to the floor when suddenly the all of disks shot toward her and melded together forming a ramp to the ground. She hit the ramp with a force that would break bones, and rolled down it and onto the floor. By the time she hit the ramp Abe was a little over ten yards away. When he reached her she was trying to pushing herself up into a sitting position while gripping her left upper arm which he could see was bleeding. Abe knelt down next to her and helped her sit up_. Odd, she shouldn't be able to sit up after how hard she hit the ramp. _Abe thought. It then occurred to him that she must have made the metal softer for the impact.

"Let me see your arm." He said gently taking said arm. Abe then took out a pocket knife and cut Roxanne's left sleeve away revealing two large gashes on her bicep that were bleeding severely.

"I need to get you to the medical bay." He said moving to wrap the remains of her sleeve around her arm to stop the bleeding, but Roxanne stopped him.

"No Abe, It's alright I just need to-" Roxanne began but was cut off by Abe.

"No Roxanne, you need to see the doctor." Abe pressed tying the cloth around her wound.

"Honestly Abe I don't need a doctor. I just have to get my-" Roxanne tried to stand but Abe stopped her, cutting her off again.

"Roxanne, _you need stitches_." Abe said firmly. "If you do not wish for the doctor to administer them then I can, but you _are_ going to go to the medical bay. The only question is whether or not I carry you there." He said in a voice that left no room for argument. Abe went to pick Roxanne up but she held up a hand and spoke.

"Alright, I'll go," She then pointed to a black gym bag resting against one of the walls. "But first will you please get that and bring it here? I need to get something out of it." Abe quickly walked over and picked up the bag. When he did he was surprised by how much it weighed. _It feels like it's full of rocks. _Abe thought as he brought the bag to Roxanne. When he placed it in front of her she unzipped it with her right arm and revealed it _was_ full o rocks. Abe opened his mouth to question as to why she had a bag of rocks when she held up her hand stopping him again.

"Watch." She said. She then selected a fairly large rock from the bag and untied the cloth Abe had placed around her arm. She held the rock in her right arm and placed it to her injury where it wrapped around her arm like putty, covering the injury and hardened again. She then closed her eyes and began to take deep, measured breaths. Abe's look of impatience quickly turned to one of fascination when a light brown glow began to emit from her arm and the rock began to shrink. When the glow dimmed Abe saw that the rock had completely disappeared from Roxanne's arm and the only thing left of her injury was dried blood and two scars where the gashes used to be. Roxanne opened her eyes and let out a shaky breath.

"How did you do that?" Abe asked in awe.

"It's another thing my powers allow me to do. I'm lucky they were only that big though, because if they had been any bigger I wouldn't have been able to heal them."

"What do you mean?" Abe asked.

"Healing like that takes an immense amount of energy because I'm taking the earth into my body through the wound and using my body's control of rock and my energy to break down the rock and use it to speed up my body's healing process, but it also leaves me fairly week when I do it so I can't heal any major injuries." Roxanne explained.

"Are there any other side effects?" Abe asked his curiosity peaked.

"A few. The area being healed gets very hot creating the glow you saw, and when I heal I experience all of the pain and discomfort the wound would cause over the course of it healing naturally jammed into however long the healing takes. Also because I have this ability when I recover naturally from injuries I heal _much _faster than regular people. What takes one person weeks to recover from, takes me days. I just run a high fever and feel more pain during the process."

"Oh really?" Abe questioned. Roxanne nodded and began to speak again.

"If I hadn't healed those gashes they would have been completely healed by Friday with me running around one hundred to one hundred and two degrees the entire time."

"But with your body at such a high temperatures have you ever gone into seizures?" Abe asked tilting his head to the side.

"No actually. I've been healing that fast my entire life and I've been _a lot_ hotter than that for much longer periods of time but I've never shown any sign of suffering any form of damage from it. I get hurt, heat up, heal quick, and then cool down." Roxanne said.

"Just how hot is "_A lot_ hotter" and how long is "much longer"?" Abe questioned. Roxanne thought for a moment biting her lower lip in thought.

"I think the hottest I've ever ran is around...one sixteen-one seventeen. And that was for about three and a half months. Yeah, that sounds about right." Roxanne said with a nod.

"That must have been a very painful recovery." Abe said softly.

"It was." Roxanne replied. "But I actually prefer healing the way I do to the way normal people do. If I had healed at the rate of a normal human then I would have been out of action for six to eight months. It makes life easier."

"I have a question though. You used your powers to make the disks into a ramp, so why not just move them all out of the way so you could drop down to the platform? Isn't it easier?" Abe asked.

"Yes it's easier but it's also cheating." Roxanne said with her mischievous grin.

"Amazing, simply amazing." Abe murmured shaking his head. He then gestured to her arm. "May I?" Roxanne nodded and Abe lifted her left arm up and began inspecting it. He gently ran his fingers over the newly formed scars that if not for the dried blood would look as if they had been there for years. This arm like the other had a fair amount of scars on it, but not an extreme amount. Abe then turned her arm to reveal the underside and found something that seemed _very_ out of place on Roxanne's arm. On the inside of Roxanne's left bicep was a tattoo. It was two swords with black hilts angled toward each other forming what appeared to be the letter **M**, under that was the roman numeral **X**, and below that was a serial number that read; 000-0001. The entire tattoo was incased in a black circle. It clearly stood for something but Abe just couldn't think of what. Roxanne didn't seem to want Abe to see it because when she noticed his gaze her eyes widened and she carefully removed her arm from his grip.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was that?" Abe asked.

"Where I esca-_came_ from, that was my ID." Roxanne said. Abe tilted his head to the side in question.

"Back..._there_, everyone has a tattoo and each one is different, so that everyone can be identified." She elaborated. She then reached over and zipped up her gym bag and Abe head her mutter bitterly; "Not that I even needed the stupid ID, everyone and their mother at the base knew who I was."

"What?" Abe asked. Roxanne shook her head.

"It's a part of the very long story that is my past." She said. "I'll tell you all about it after dinner if you want." She offered. Abe could see some of the puzzle peices comming together in his mind: she had refused to take off her jack last night, and had worn long sleeves today because she didn't want anyone to see the tattoo; she didn't want anyone to recognize it, or herself.

"That sounds fine." He answered.

"I should go and get cleaned up." She said gesturing to her ruined shirt, and the dried blood on her arm. Reaching for the hem of her shirt she began to pull it up. Abe realizing what she was going to do placed his hands over hers, forcing them back down.

"What on earth are you doing?" He demanded blushing and looking away. Roxanne then looked him in the face and Abe figured he must have had a fairly odd expression on it because she erupted in a fit of a laughter so powerful she had to lay back on the floor to keep from falling over. It was the first time Abe had ever heard Roxanne truly laugh, and he found he liked the sound.

"Calm down Abe!" She said trying to stifle her laughter. "I'm wearing a tank top under this." A mischievous smile never leaving her face as she sat back up and removed her ruined shirt to reveal a black tank top and a pair of dog tags that he was too flustered to ask about.

"Buy why remover your over shirt in the first place?" Abe asked.

"I'm going to look weird enough walking back to my room with dried blood on my arm and no cut to show for it, let alone in a shirt with only one sleeve." Roxanne clarified. Apparently Roxanne had no idea what "Odd" meant at the bureau because ripped clothing and dried blood was a fairly standard thing. Roxanne shoved the remains of her shirt into a pocket of her bag, then stood and picked up the bag but Abe quickly walked forward and took it from her.

"I'll help you back to your room." He said. Roxanne looked like she was going to protest but gave up and nodded. The two reached Roxanne's room quickly and Roxanne took the bag of rocks from him with a smile.

"Thanks Abe, I'll see you at dinner. I'll be down once I'm cleaned up and changed." She then disappeared into her room. Standing outside her door Abe realized he was still wearing all of his mission gear. Turning he went into the library and put all of his gear away. He then took out the prototype of the spray and applied it to his gills. He took an experimental breath and was pleased to see it worked. He quickly changed into his usual black swimming shorts and put in his contacts. He then walked over to the four music stands in front of his tank and removed the books from them. Walking over to one of the book shelves he began the process of picking out four new books to read. About five minutes later he had four new books placed on the music stands and ready for him to begin reading later. Walking out of the library he decided to wait for Roxanne to come out before heading to the kitchen. Roxanne emerged a few minutes later, wearing a dark green T-shirt and a fresh pair of jeans.

"Hey Abe. I would have figured you'd be down at dinner by now." Roxanne said once she spotted him.

"I decided to wait for you and escort you down. If you don't mind that is." He added hastily. Roxanne shook her head and let out a slight chuckle.

"Always the gentlemen aren't you?" She teased playfully.

"Always." Abe replied.

"Alright let's go." She said. The two walked down to kitchen where they found Hellboy, Liz, and Johan already seated at the table.

"Nice of you two to join us." Hellboy said. "Can we eat now?" He asked turning to Liz.

"Sure." Liz said. Hellboy leaned back in his chair, hit a button on the wall and the two carts of food were pushed in. Today they were having spaghetti and marinara sauce.

"How was the mission?" Roxanne asked as the plates were distributed.

"It vent vell." Johan said. "Though it took some time ve vere able to capture all of ze Imps in a timely fashion."

"A timely fashion?" Hellboy said. "We were at that stupid mall for _forever!_"

"It wasn't that long Red." Liz said. "Quit being so over dramatic."

"Well it _felt _like forever." Red grumbled.

"Oh and Roxanne, thank you for the tip about their bite." Abe said. "It saved me the time of having to look them up in my books and it was truly helpful." The other nodded their agreement.

"No problem." Roxanne said shrugging. "I've had a few run-ins with the little pests before and they were less than pleasant." At this she reached up and absentmindedly fingered a scar on the left side of her jaw that looked like it came from a small set of pointed teeth Abe also noticed there was a matching scar just above her right eyebrow.

"I take it zat you been bitten by von before." Johan said leaning forward in his chair slightly. Roxanne nodded.

"Twice." She responded with a frown.

"If you'd already been bitten once, wouldn't you be more careful the next time you dealt with them?" Hellboy asked.

"Actually the second time I wasn't bitten because I wasn't being careful, I was bitten because one of the little cretins saw I was starting to recover from the first bite." She answered.

"Twice in one day?" Liz asked. "That must have sucked."

"It did." Roxanne said.

"Is veing bitten painful?" Johan asked.

"Oh Yeah." Was Roxanne's reply.

"Does it hurt a lot?" asked Hellboy.

"Yes." Was the monosyllabic response as Roxanne picked at her food.

"How much?" Hellboy pressed.

"Red the interrogation isn't exactly polite." Liz said.

"It's alright Liz. And Red it's more painful than a pinch but less than paying your taxes." Roxanne replied with a slight smile. Everyone gave her a questioning look.

"You all have never paid taxes have you?" Roxanne said looking from face to face. She was given nods and verbal confirmation of the statement.

"It's something my dad used to say when asked if something hurt." She explained. "Let's try this; it's more painful than a pinch but less than having your arm and leg removed." Everyone understood this explanation. They ate in silence for a few moments before Hellboy blurted out a question.

"Hey Kid what's up with your arm?" He asked.

"It's nothing, just a granite wrist band." Roxanne told him reaching for her drink.

"I meant your left arm." Hello boy said.

"Huh?" She responded. "I thought I got all the blood off." She muttered as she began to check her arm.

"I zink zat Agent Hellboy was referring to ze tattoo Ms. Stryker." Johan said.

"Oh, that." Roxanne said blushing.

"If you don't mind me asking, what blood?" Liz inquired.

"I cut my arm earlier." Roxanne explained.

"But I do not see any injury." Johan pointed out.

"That's because I healed it." Roxanne told him.

"You can heal?" Liz asked impressed.

"Only if it's a small injury." Roxanne answered.

"How'd you cut yourself?" Hellboy pressed.

"I felt off the obstacle course." Was her short response. Hellboy grinned.

"What? You can't take a simple little obstacle course?" He teased. Abe could tell that Roxanne was getting flustered about the sudden onslaught of questions, so he decided to help.

"Actually Red, She was running the course on maximum difficulty, and doing exceedingly well I might add." Abe said.

"When'd you fall?" Hellboy asked his teasing grin never leaving his face. "At the hurdles or the bridge?" Roxanne opened her mouth to reply but Abe-who could sense what she was going to say-placed a hand on her arm and gave her a look, effectively stopping the cutting reply that was on the way.

"I actually made it to the last obstacle but I lost my concentration while making my past the disks to the finish." Was the calm reply.

"Impressive, but that still doesn't explain the tattoo." Hellboy said getting back to his original question.

"Alright, how about after dinner I tell you guys all about myself? Were I came from, the "Hell hole", the trolls, the tattoo, and anything else you want to know. Sound good?" She offered.

"We don't want you to feel like you have tell us anything Roxanne." Liz said looking at the younger girl. Roxanne waved her hand dismissively.

"I was actually going to tell Abe tonight and I'll probably have to tell Manning tomorrow, so it's no big deal."

"Zat sounds fine." Johan said, Hellboy and Liz agreed. The rest of dinner was fairly quiet and when everyone finished Roxanne stood and rubbed her hands together.

"Alright, so where do you guys want to talk?" She asked.

"How about the library?" Abe suggested.

"That works." Liz said placing a hand on the small of her back as she stood.

"Let's go then." Roxanne said as the five walked to the library. Once there; Hellboy collapsed onto a couch pulling Liz down with him, Johan sat in an armchair, and Abe sat next to Roxanne on the remaining couch.

"I'll start from the beginning I suppose." Roxanne said running a hand through her hair. "I'm originally from Fort Collins Colorado. My dad was Robert Stryker and a General in the army, my mom was Meghan Stryker, and I had a Little brother named Patrick Stryker, he was three years younger than I am."

"I noticed zat you are using ze past tense ven referring to your family. Did something happen to zem?" Johan asked leaning forward. Roxanne closed her eye and looked down taking a deep breath. She exhaled and looked up her eyes reflecting an intense pain and sadness, and that pain and sadness was clear in her voice with her next words.

"Both of my parents and my little brother were killed when I was eight years old."

* * *

**A/N: Cliffhangger! For those of you who want a better Idea of what Roxanne's tattoo looks like it's now my new avatar so check it out. So here's chapter four and holy crap it's long! the most I've ever written…so far. **

**There's a few parts I'm kinda iffy about so let me know what you guys think please! **

**And I would like to formally apologize to my friend Van for her getting grounded because she had to duck-tape and hog-tie her little sister so she can read this in peace. But tell me Van…was it worth it? Lol. See you guys next chapter.**

**-UpInArms100**


	5. Roxanne's Past

**A/N**:All of the chapters have been edited, not many major changes but a few things added you should check out. Sorry that it's been a while between updates but things have been a bit crazy lately. Here Roxanne tells the team ALL about her past. Enjoy.

**Bold is Latin or Latin translations,**_italic are either emphasis on word or thoughts, __**Bold and italic is other**_

Me? Own Hellboy? BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That's funny!

**Chapter 5: Roxanne's past**

_**Recap:**_

_**"I'll start from the beginning I suppose." Roxanne said running a hand through her hair. "I'm originally from Fort Collins Colorado. My dad was Robert Stryker and a General in the army, my mom was Meghan Stryker, and I had a Little brother named Patrick Stryker, he was three years younger than I am."**_

_**"I noticed zat you are using ze past tense ven referring to your family. Did something happen to zem?" Johan asked leaning forward. Roxanne closed her eye and looked down taking a deep breath. She exhaled and looked up her eyes reflecting an intense pain and sadness, and that pain and sadness was clear in her voice with her next words.**_

_**"Both of my parents and my little brother were killed when I was eight years old."**_

A stunned silence filled the room as everyone felt the weight of that one statement settle over them. Abe placed a comforting hand on Roxanne's shoulder, something he found he was doing quite often but didn't mind. Suddenly the library's golden door opened revealing not a person but a small object that flew through the air and landed in Roxanne's outstretched hand. Abe recognized it as the photo of Roxanne and her family that he had seen the night before; she had used her ability to manipulate metal to summon it. The golden doors swung shut and Roxanne began to speak again.

"Dad was on leave for a while so we took a small vacation together before he had to go overseas again. This picture was taken during that trip; we were at Routt National Forest." At this she passed the picture to Abe gesturing for him to pass it to the others. "We all loved to go camping; dad would show us survival skills, mom would point out different plants, I didn't have to hide my powers because we were so far away from civilization, and Pat just loved to be outside. The trip ended and we went back home. While driving home our truck was blindsided by a semi. We were thrown over the guard rail and rolled down a hill. My powers kicked in and things were moving too fast for me to notice the metal of the car and the ground were moving in a way to keep me safe with the impacts, but while my powers kept me from getting mortally injured they didn't do the same for my family. Ambulances were called and we were all rushed to the hospital, the semi that hit us drove off, people who saw the wreck said it had something like D-tech. or D-corp. written on the side, but the truck was never found. When I regained consciousness in the hospital I had only slight injuries and could be discharged, but everyone else couldn't. My parents and brother had such extensive injuries that they were not expected to live longer than a few days. Patrick died first, on the day I woke up. Mom next, two days later and dad was a fighter; he lasted a week. None of them ever regained consciousness but I was there with each of them in their final moments anyway, telling them I loved them, that I would never forget them and holding their hands." Roxanne had leaned forward with her elbows resting on her knees and her eyes trained on the floor in front of her when Abe spoke.

"I'm so sorry Roxanne." He said giving her shoulder a squeeze.

"If you were hit by a semi and your family died in the hospital then they weren't killed so much as in an accident right?" Liz asked.

"No, but I'll explain that later." Roxanne said. She then sat up straight and began again.

"After my family died I was an orphan with no one, my grandparents were dead and my parents were only children so I was and still am the only member of my family left. That's when I met a tall man with dark hair and black eyes named Dr. Daemon Dolore who my parents claimed as my legal guardian if anything happened to them. Apparently he was in the army with my dad as a medic and was a close friend of my parents-which was odd considering I'd never met the man before- but I was too upset at the time to care who was being saddled with me. Both of my parents were from Bridgeport Connecticut so they, along with my little brother were buried there. Dolore and I stayed for the funeral, it was dark and cloudy out, odd for summer but it seemed fitting. Dolore wanted to leave right after the service but I refused to leave until I saw everyone put into the ground and covered. While I stood there Dolore came up, placed a hand on my shoulder and began to speak.

"He talked about what a shame it was that this had happened to my parents and brother because of that one driver being careless, and that sadly many people died each day in similar and worse ways than this because of the carelessness of others or for no good reason. He continued to tell me about how the world was so corrupt and unfair. He said he wanted to change the world for the better to prevent people from having to go through this type of thing, how he had a plan of how to do so but he needed help. He began to paint the most wonderful pictures in my mind; of a world where there was no senseless violence, everyone got along, no one was poor or homeless, the wilderness was preserved not destroyed, everyone was happy and people died of old age, not the way my family did. He said that he planned to make this world a reality by gathering a group of very special people, training them into soldiers and using them to help the world and turn it into the better place he imagined, they would be the protectors of the world, but he needed people to join him first.

"He then knelt down in front of me and said that he wanted me to be the first to join him, and asked if I would. I was an impressionable eight year old who had just lost her entire world, so I accepted his offer immediately. He then told me he knew about my powers. At the time I had little to no control of my powers and he said he could help me master them, but he would have to do experiments on me to make my powers develop faster than normal and so that he could try and see what their extent was. Again I agreed. He took me to Montana where he had an extremely large facility in a very remote area set up to start his plan. Though I was the first to join him, Dolore already had a full staff set up. He funded everything through a multi-billion dollar business he had called _DD-Industries. _They were mostly a military tactical equipment supplier but there were other small branches too. At first when I arrived at the base I couldn't believe it, I was going to become a protector of the people, I would not only save lives, but eventually the world. I wanted to make sure that nothing like what happened to me happened to anyone again, so I threw myself into the training program Dolore established. Firearms, strategy, military tactics and commands, survival, explosives, agility, speed, strength, endurance, different types of martial arts, I learned it all. Soon after that others began to show up, all between the ages of three and sixteen and all of them were orphans and had some type of gift or power. Soon we had so many that a type of identification had to be established. So the uniforms and the tattoos were introduced along with a proper name for us. Dolore named us **Consulere**, **the protectors** and the facility was just referred to as The Base. When someone entered The Base they were given a serial number as an ID, the serial number was then tattooed onto the underside of their left bicep with a special ink Dolore invented. Everyone's tattoo is different, and there is something in it that gives off a sensation in the skin when someone else with the tattoo is close, so as to minimize friendly fire and injuries from team mates during missions. My serial number is six zeros followed by a one because I was the first to join Dolore." She extended her arm for everyone to see the tattoo.

"Vat does ze rest of ze tattoo mean?" Johan asked.

"I'll get to that in a minute." Roxanne said. "As I trained Dolore experimented on me. He would use many different methods; chemicals, physical tests, mental evaluations, electronic stimulation, all methods were extremely painful. He soon began to experiment on everyone; the two most common methods were also the most painful. The first was injecting us with a chemical he invented called **potestatem****fabricator**or**builder of power** in English. When given it is injected through an IV and it stimulates the part of the brain that controlled our powers and give us better control of them. Then there was a crystal he discovered named**furem****potestate** or **thief of power**in English, but everyone else just called it leach crystal because it sucks the strength out of someone, and if they have powers then it takes both their strength and their power and stores what it's taken in itself. The test subject would be able to regain their strength and powers fairly quickly but it hurt like hell. When we found out I could heal, wounds being inflicted to see how they would heal under specific conditions became another part of the experimentation done on me." She said gesturing to the scars on her arms.

"I soon mastered every type of training thrown at me and began to train the others. I specialized in close quarters combat, firearms, explosives, and tactical driving. There was a high honor at The Base, being awarded the rank of Master Soldier. Being a Master Soldier meant you were the best of the best soldiers, you excelled at everything you were taught, you followed orders to the letter but could improvise when needed, you were truly the perfect soldier. Master Soldiers were allowed special privileges; they attended meetings, went on missions, everyone strived to be a Master Soldier but no one had been awarded the title. Dolore had watched my progress and at age twelve I was made the first of the Master Soldiers or MS's." She then pointed to the two swords angled to form an _**M**_on her tattoo.

"Each time you reach a certain achievement something is added to your tattoo or your uniform. This is the mark of the master soldier. At thirteen I was made the head of the Explosives, transportation and weapons departments. By this point others had joined me as an MS and we had our own division completely composed of Master soldiers; division ten." She then pointed to the Roman numeral_**X**_under the swords.

"Since I was the first MS I was the leader of them all. That's why the ten is filled in black, if I was just another soldier in the division then it would be just the outline. The number filled in means that you are the leader of whatever number division is on your arm, if not then it's just the division you're in. I lead my division on missions from Dolore where we would go and scout out gangs, we would go to labs and take things that were being used or invented with the intent to cause harm to the world and its population, we dealt with monsters that were deemed threats to the world. We did whatever we were instructed to do. We were the hero's of The Base. Only later did I see the irony in the fact that a facility of soldiers, using a military tactical equipment producer as a front were trying to save the world. After I was put in charge of my division Dolore began to recruit monsters to help with his plan. They weren't trained formally like us, they were sent on missions as added muscle or to be used as tools. That should have been my first warning that things were going wrong. On my fifteenth birthday Dolore made me his second in command, and the High Commander of The Base." She then pointed to the thick black circle around the tattoo.

"A circle with a thin line is used for any normal soldier, the outline of a thick circle means that person is in a position of power, but the filled in black line means that that I am in charge of all the soldiers and second only to Dr. Dolore himself. I was allowed unlimited access to anything I wanted; files, tech, plans, equipment, I had it all and was helping the world, I couldn't have been happier. But then Dolore and I began to disagree on tactics to use during missions. He began to use "by whatever means necessary" tactics, even if that meant killing the innocent, while I wanted to use a stealth tactic with little to no casualties. We began to argue more often and I began to notice that he often wanted to do thing that went against what everyone in The Base was taught. Soon after he began to change the way The Base was ran as well. People were being suspected of treason and killed immediately, capital punish was given out without any form of trial, the superior officers started act like the masters of the soldiers instead of their leaders, and experimentation was used as a form of torture, not research. Everything just seemed to become the complete opposite of what it was supposed to be. So I began to do a bit of file snooping. I found that the rules and codes we were taught to live by were hardly ever followed. I began to check records and saw that Dolore had been killing innocents from the very beginning and in large numbers too. I couldn't believe any of it.

"I spent the next few weeks digging and the further I dug the clearer things became; the experimentation on the soldiers _was_ torture, not research. The chemical we were injected with didn't help our powers develop, it was a saline solution mixed with a type of mild sedative he created to keep us all in line. The leach crystals weren't used to help us, Dolore used them to gather our powers so he could try and give them to himself. The "special ink" In the tattoos had a chemical that soaked through the skin and mixed with the blood so that when the saline solution we were given comes into contact with it Dolore is given a type of control of us. I found out that He didn't want to save the world; he wanted to take it over and put himself at the top as some sort of multi-powered dictator with an army of highly skilled mercenaries backing him! Because that what we were, not protectors of the new world, but the brainless army of a wannabe tyrant. The technology I had invented was not being uses as I intended it to be; the explosive I made to help miners was being used to break into buildings, the safety features I made for vehicles were being twisted and put on Dolore's war machines! One of the bigger secrets he had kept from everyone was that he had a power as well. He was just like the crystals he created, he could leach power, and strength from people and often did it to the soldiers without them noticing!" By this point Roxanne was getting angry.

"So He really went from being a saint to the scum of the earth in your eyes didn't he kid?" Hellboy asked.

"Even lower that the scum of the earth." Roxanne growled. "But soon after that I found out he had done something even worse. As I searched the records I came across a file with the date of the car accident that resulted in the death of my family, and my name on it. I looked in it and found out Dolore knew who was driving the truck that threw my families car over the rail that day because it was a DD-Industries truck! It wasn't one of the company truck drivers in it either, oh no, he had one of the people on his facility payroll driving it. I found out Dolore was never in the army, he never knew my parents, and he wasn't supposed to be my guardian! He forged all of the papers and lied about everything. Now why did he do this? He found out about my powers and decided I could be used to help him with his _stupid_ _goal. _So he had one of his men crash into my parents car while we were all in it giving us injuries so bad that we had to go to the hospital, he then planted fake doctors in the hospital and had them give my parents and little brother a type of untraceable poison that would kill them all in a matter of days. He killed the only people in my life that mattered and destroyed my entire world! And for what? Him being able to start up his stupid little army!" Roxanne was seething by this point and Abe could see tears brimming in her eyes. He reached over and gently placed his left hand over her right. She flipped her hand over and grabbed onto his gripping him like he was her lifeline to this world. Suddenly the tears disappeared before they could spill over but the grip on his hand did not.

"So I checked everyone else's files and found similar stories. Most of their families died with Dolore appointed as their guardian, others were adopted, and some were just homeless and alone found wandering the streets before being brought there. All of them were lied to. So I decided I was going to escape. The first thing I needed to do was stop taking the power stimulant. Since I was second in command Dolore trusted me enough to let me give myself the power stimulant in my room. He would give me the daily dose; I would dump it down the toilet and return an empty bag. After that I spent the next few months devising methods of getting out and I finally developed one that was fool proof, but I decided I would stay a bit longer and raise some hell from the inside.

"I began interfering with mission plans, blueprints, and other key files began to disappear, machinery malfunction, I did whatever I could to mess with Dolore, but I did it so discretely that he never noticed someone was intentionally sabotaging him. Soon his entire system became so chaotic that he couldn't fix it. When I was sixteen almost seventeen I decided it was time for me to leave but in order to get out I would need a distraction, so I figured; why not kill two birds with one stone. The day I planned my escape I packed a bag of belongings and set my plan in motion. I went into all of the Labs, factories, filing rooms, and the other central parts of The Base to perform a "surprise inspection," but what I was really doing was planting the new explosives I developed. They're small but very powerful devices that completely disintegrate upon detonation so they can't be traced. I waited until night so that no one would get caught in the blast and activated them, within thirty seconds year's and year's worth of research, data, weapons, plans and machinery were either destroyed or up in flames. While everyone was attending to the explosions and fires I commandeered one of the facilities vehicles and made my leave. I was finally free." By this point Roxanne had calmed down immensely but kept hold of Abe's hand.

"But you didn't have a place to go, or any money to pay for a hotel, food, and gas. How did you survive on your own for so long?" Abe asked not able to hold back his questions any longer. For the first time during the discussion Roxanne smiled.

"Now who said I had no money?" She asked with a sly grin. "I was a soldier for eight, almost nine years; do you really think I was an un-paid soldier? Oh no, thanks to Dolore's multi-billion dollar business so he was able to pay all of the soldiers. But to avoid alerting the government to our existence he paid us in cash. Though it wasn't an extravagantly large amount, saving up for eight years accumulates _a lot_ of money. The first thing I did when I was out was buy some new clothes so I wouldn't stand out as much. Then I went back to Colorado and paid to get my Dad's bike out of impound. I had-"

"What bike?" Hellboy interrupted.

"My dad had a Harley Davidson Sportster 1200, so it _was_ and_ is_ my Sportster now." Roxanne explained.

"Wait a minute!" Liz said. "Are you telling me that the people at the storage facility gave you-a sixteen years old girl-a motorcycle? That is so irresponsible!"

"Actually as far as they knew I was over eighteen."Roxanne said. "So I wouldn't get in trouble if stopped or pulled over when on a mission Dolore made me a few fake license's, I just used the one that said I was nineteen. So I paid for the Bike to be let out and I've been riding that ever since."

"If you still have the motorbike zen where iz it?" Johan asked.

"Right now it's sitting in the parking lot of the McDonalds in Danbury. I'll have to talk to Manning about going to get it." Roxanne told them. "But anyway, Dolore noticed immediately that I was gone and I'm guessing he put two and two together and figured I was the one who was messing everything up at The Base and set off the explosions because about a month later he started to send people after me in an attempt to bring me back. He started with soldiers but I was the best one that he ever had, plus I either trained or helped train all the soldiers so they weren't any challenge. He realized this and stopped sending them once I was around eighteen. He then began to mix and match different monster and soldiers in a hope one group could get me back but nothing worked. The past few months he's been sending out trolls, I think he's hoping that their brute strength will wear me down and then they'll be able to grab me. And as you guys saw that plan has been_ really_ successful." Roxanne said with sarcasm and a roll of her eyes.

"Oh yeah, I think they lasted about thirty seconds." Hellboy said with a grin. Roxanne shrugged before continuing.

"Though things were never very difficult everything became a lot easier once I turned eighteen. You see; I was able to fully access all of my families assets, and while my family wasn't rich we were pretty well off, and that added with the money I already had plus the…the life insurance on my parents and brother…well let's say I've never had a problem with money. Though he tried, Dolore can't get into my accounts and freeze my asset so he tracks me when I use my debit card so I never really use that, I'll withdraw large amounts of money every once in a while, he'll track me to that bank, then I'll disappear again. I've never stayed in one place too long so I only deal with Dolore's thugs every so often."

"If your run inz vith his men are so rare then vhy have ze attacks on civilians become so frequent?" Johan questioned.

"Dolore knew I'd be going back to Connecticut because I always do this time of year, and trolls aren't very smart so I guess they were attacking anyone who looked like me. They only reason they found me yesterday was because I had made a withdrawal earlier."

"Why do you always come to Connecticut this time of year?" Hellboy asked.

"I always have, it's been a habit since my parents died."

"Even when you were with Dolore?" Liz questioned.

"Yep, he trusted me so he would allow me to take small trips. I would never tell him exactly where I was going and I would always lose the people he sent to follow me secretly, so he still doesn't know where I'm going or what I do when here."

"What do you do when here?" Hellboy pressed further.

"Go to the beach, hike a bit, relax and unwind, that sort of thing I mostly stay by long Island Sound though." Roxanne said with a shrug. "Well there you have it, that's my story. Any more questions?" A few other questions were asked and while Roxanne was speaking with Liz Abe noticed Hellboy was grinning at him. He quickly entered Red's mind and gave the demon a questioning look.

_Hey Blue, what's up with you and the Kid?_ Hellboy asked.

_What do you mean? _Abe responded.

_I mean, do you like her?_

_Well yes, she's a very nice person._

_No, no, no, I mean do you_ like like_ her? You know in a romantic way._

_What would make you say that? _Abe said avoiding the question.

_You're holding her hand. _Abe looked down and found that his hand was still clasped in Roxanne's. He blushed and looked away but didn't let go.

_She was upset and I offered her my hand in an attempt to comfort her. _

_Well she's not upset any more, but you're still holding her hand. _Hellboy pointed out.

_It would be rude to let go so suddenly. _Hellboy grinned and leaned back.

_Suuuuure. Don't worry Blue your secrets safe with me._

_There is no secret to be kept. _Abe insisted.

_Riiiiiiight. _Abe then withdrew from Hellboy's mind but the demon continued to smirk at him.

"Miss. Stryker, earlier you mentioned a uniform, do you still have it?" Johan asked.

"Yes, I do." Roxanne said nodding. "And I'm guessing you would like to see it?"

Yes, but only if you don't mind." Liz said.

"No problem, I'll be right back." Roxanne stood up and only then did she seem to realize she was still holding Abe's hand. She blushed and let go, walking out of the room. The four in the library sat quietly while they waited for Roxanne to return. Over five minutes had passed but Roxanne still wasn't back.

"What's taking so long?" Hellboy complained.

"Calm down Red, I'm sure she'll be back soon." Abe said.

"Well she's taking forever." Hellboy muttered crossing his arms over his chest. Just then the door to the Library opened and Roxanne walked carrying a several folded articles of clothing. She then knelt down and laid the articles out on the floor.

There was a pair of grey dress pants with a black stripe going up each leg and gold stripes on either side of the black one. Above that she put a black tie with a white collared shirt that had a black _**C**_ embroidered on both sides of the collar. Over that there was a grey military jacket with several gold stripes around each wrist and gold buttons going up the front. A gold and black cord wrapped under and around the right shoulder of the jacket, while a black leather belt went from the right shoulder to the left hip where it connected with another belt at the waist, and on the belt there was a hip holster for a handgun hanging of the right side. A name tag that said _**HCDR STRYKER **_was pinon the right lapel and Roxanne then placed a small bag of various ribbons and pins over the left lapel. On top of each shoulder was a silver eagle pin with two silver star pins on either side. The was a patch on the upper part of each arm that were exactly the same as her tattoo. She placed a pair of black leather gloves on the jacket and a grey bullion hat-that had the eagle and two stars on it; a gold band running along the base and two silver laurels running down each side of the visor-was placed above to the jacket.

"So I take it this is your formal uniform, not the one you trained in?" Abe asked.

"Correct, though this is my dress uniform it's also I would wear on a normal day. I left my training uniform at The Base when I left." Roxanne said.

"Did you only have one dress uniform and one training uniform?" Hellboy asked.

"No, I had multiple pairs of both; but I only took the one I was wearing with me when I left."

"Wait," Liz said. "Not only did you have only the clothes on your back when you left, but you went out and bought yourself new clothes in _that_?" She asked shocked. Roxanne shrugged.

"It was all I had. Actually people who saw me thought I was in the military so no one said anything about it, but I'm willing to bet the handgun helped with that. You should have seen their faces when I pulled up to the store though. I think they were expecting some kind of biker but when I climber off in my uniform and walked in, their expressions were priceless." Roxanne said grinning. Johan then spoke up for the first time since Roxanne reentered the room.

"Miss. Stryker, would you be so kind as to explain vat the different pieces of your uniform mean? I can't seem to figure it out." He told her.

"Of course." Was the response. Roxanne then began to point to the various features of the uniform. "The colors of The Base were grey, black and gold, so that's the color scheme of the uniforms. The _**C**_ on the collar stands for **Consulere**, which, as I said was our name. Each gold stripe on the sleeves stands for a different skill that I mastered; the gold buttons mean I was a high ranking official. The cord means I was the leader of my division, while the belt is just a belt for where I used to carry a gun and a few pouches for other items. _**HCDR STRYKER**_on my name tag means High Commander Stryker. Each ribbon and pin is different form of personal achievement, records, high scores, completing certain tasks, that type of thing. The silver eagle is the sign of the High Commander, which means I was in charge of all the soldiers, and the two silver stars one either side of the eagle mean I was second in command. The patches on the arms mean the same as my tattoo and are a more visible ID. The gloves don't mean anything really, just that I was important enough to have them. The bullion is a type of hat reserved for very high ranking officials; most other soldiers wear black berets or grey Garrison caps. The eagle and stars on the Bullion you already know, the gold band means I also trained other soldiers, and the silver laurels mean I was a Master Soldier."

"That's very impressive Roxanne." Abe said.

"Thanks." Roxanne said with a smile. "Though I don't like the stupid thing much."

"Why not?" Red asked.

"Well, as you can imagine the time when I had to wear this wasn't a very happy time in my life." Roxanne explained. Everyone nodded.

"You said you used to have a gun, where is it?" Hellboy asked.

"I sold it when I was nineteen." Roxanne said.

"Why on earth would you get rid of a gun when you had people after you?" Red Demanded.

"I would constantly have to buy ammo for it and I didn't want to get caught roaming the country with a gun, beside I had my powers." Roxanne explained. Hellboy seemed to understand this.

"Thank you Roxanne for telling us all that." Liz said getting to her feet.

"No problem," Roxanne shrugged. "Besides you guys deserve to know the whole truth."

"But you still did not have to tell us all of zis. So thank you." Johan said.

"Like it said it's not a big deal." Roxanne assured.

"Well it's getting late so I'm going to bed. You coming Red?"

"Yeah I'll be there in a minute." Hellboy said as his girlfriend left the library.

"I vill be retiering now as vell." Johan said. "Gute Nacht everyone." He left the room as well. Roxanne then began to gather the pieces of her old uniform.

"Here let me help you." He said kneeling down to assist her.

"Thanks." Was the reply. Abe reached for the bag of pins and ribbons at the same time Roxanne did and his hand ended up on top of hers. When they touched Abe felt a jolt of electricity race up his arm, but he didn't remove his hand. Then blue eyes looked into green and Roxanne gave Abe a gentle smile.

"Ah-hem." Hellboy cleared his throat. Abe and Roxanne quickly withdrew their hands and Roxanne took the bag standing up.

"I'm going to go to bed. Night Abe, good Red." Roxanne said before leaving and going to her room. Once she was gone Hellboy turned to Abe.

"Hey Abe, I thought you couldn't smile." Hellboy said grinning.

"I can't." Abe said eyeing his adoptive brother suspiciously.

"Well it sure looked like you and Roxanne just shared a smile. I thought you said you don't like her." Hellboy teased.

"That's ridiculous." Abe protested."I can't smile, and even if I could, one smile doesn't mean I have romantic feelings for the person I smile at."

"You're right it doesn't, but the facts that you looked like you'd been electrocuted in a pleasant way when you touch her hand, left your hand on hers and then looked into her eyes like that does." Hellboy said. "Alright now let's hear your excuse; does she have secret electricity powers? Was your hand glued to hers temporarily? I know! she has mind control and made you look at her!" Abe tried to come up with something that would excuse and be believable his actions but found nothing.

"Be quite you big red monkey." He muttered before ascending the stairs and getting into his tank.

"That's what I thought." Hellboy said with a triumphant grin. "Don't worry brother Blue, I won't tell her." He then left the library leaving Abe to his thoughts.

**A/N:** so how was it? Sorry about it being a while but a bunch of stuff was happening at my school and in my family and it got to a point that if I tried to update then I would have killed off everyone (and I do mean everyone) via car bomb. Everyone is walking to the trash truck. Open door *BOOM* everyone dies immediately. And I don't think you guys want that. Wait…do you? Lol. Yeah so…review please!


	6. The Tests

**A/N: **Sorry I haven't updated in a while but I've been busy with all kinds of shit. Anyway here's chapter 6.

**Disclaimer:** Yes I own everything! I can also fly, talk to animals, travel through time, and am close personal friends with J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan. NOT!

_Italic is emphasis on thoughts,_**bold is other, **_**bold italic is Abe using his powers to see things**_

**Chapter 6: the Tests**

* * *

**B.P.R.D. Tuesday, 11:00am.**

Abe was sitting in his tank listening to classical music when Manning walked into the room and knocked on the glass.

"Fish stick," He said. "I need you to get Stryker and head to the meeting room."

"What for?" Abe asked already knowing the answer.

"It's time for us to get a report of her story." He answered. "Red and Liz are already there." He added before walking out of the room. Abe then climbed out his tank dried off and turned his music off. He quickly used his spray prototype before leaving the room and going to Roxanne's. He knocked on the door and heard a voice call for him to come in. Upon entering the room he received a small surprise when he found Roxanne lying on her couch reading a book. She didn't pay much attention to him when he walked in.

"I didn't know you wore glasses." He said curiously. Roxanne froze and her eyes widened behind said glasses.

"Crap!" she muttered ripping the glasses off her face and hiding them behind a couch pillow. "Oh, hey Abe! Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention." She apologized, a blush on her cheeks.

"It's perfectly alright; I've also been too engrossed in a book to notice my surroundings before." He replied.

"I've probably read this book a hundred times but every time I read it, it's a new book." Rose said holding up the black hardcover book for Abe to take.

"I've never read this one before." Abe said examining the novel. It had the word **Brisingr **on the spine in flowing gold script. "Is it any good?"

"Oh it's amazing." Roxanne said looking up at Abe. "This one," She tapped the book's cover" Is the third book, in a four book series called **The Inheritance Cycle**. I have the first three but the fourth hasn't come out yet." She then reached over and plucked two more books from the stack on her coffee table. These were entitled **Eragon** and **Eldest**.

"These are the first and second books." She held them up for Abe to examine. He took notice that all three of the books had a slightly worn appearance, but were also well taken care of at the same time. No doubt the result of years of traveling.

"I should have to borrow them from you sometime." Abe said handing the book back. "But you've been avoiding my earlier statement."

"You're never one to be distracted are you?" She asked with a slight smile. She then reached behind the pillow and withdrew a pair of thin rimmed glasses handing them to Abe. "I only wear them when reading, but it's been a habit of mine over the years to never let anyone see me with them on. For some reason back at the base having glasses was seen as a sign of weakness, though I have no idea why." Abe examined the frames. They were a light metal construct painted blue with a small green stripe down either side. He handed them back to Roxanne.

"I guess I always thought it was a little embarrassing. I mean; the person with so much power needing glasses to read a book." Roxanne said placing the glasses inside a silver case on the table.

"Actually Roxanne, I'm wearing contacts right now." Abe said.

"Really?" She asked shocked. He nodded.

"Before I got the contacts I had to wear these large prescription goggles filled with water that took up most of my face. I understand that with those and the breathing apparatus combined I was quite comical looking." He said. Roxanne smiled.

"Perhaps, I never saw you then. I don't _have_ to use theses to read, but they do lessen the strain on my eyes. Anyway, is there something you needed?" She asked referring to his reason for coming to see her.

"Oh yes!" He said. "Manning and the others are waiting in the meeting room for us. He's ready for you to tell him about yourself."

"Right, just give me one minute. I need to get ready." Abe then noticed that she was only partially dressed. She Was currently wearing a black tank top, a pair of jeans, a belt and the pair of dog tags he remembered seeing once before. As she went into her room her tank top allowed Abe to see the scars that went up her arms, across her shoulders, and down her back. There weren't so many that it looked grotesque, in fact most were fairly small and faded but there were a few others that stood out greatly. He didn't doubt that most if not _all_ of them were given to her at the hands of Dolore, and the though made him very angry. Roxanne then came back into the room buttoning up a blue plaid blouse and rolling up the sleeves past her elbows.

"You okay Abe?" She asked sitting down to pull her boots on.

"Of course, why do you ask?" He responded.

"You have an odd look on your face, like you're mad, sad and in pain all at the same time." She told him lacing up her boots. When done she followed his gaze to her arms and it all seemed to click.

"Oh, I get it." She stood and walked over to him placing her hands on his shoulder and looking him in the eyes with a kind smile. "That's very sweet of you for caring, but you don't need to worry about these old scars. While it was unpleasant when I received them, they healed a long time ago and don't bother me at all anymore; so _please _don't let them bother you Abe."

"I know but…you were so young and he didn't care. He used you and so many others just to get what he wanted." Abe sighed. "And people say Red and I are inhuman."

"As far as I'm concerned you and Red _are_ human, you've all shown me more kindness than anyone at the base ever did,_ especially_ that monster." Abe was then taken by surprise when Roxanne took a step forward and hugged him. He stood there for a moment before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her back. After a moment Roxanne pulled away and looked up at him.

"Well we should get going huh? Don't want to keep everyone waiting much longer do we?" She said with a lopsided smile as she opened the door for them. Abe nodded and the two headed to the meeting room.

* * *

**11:20am**

Roxanne had just finished telling Manning and his agents all about: her past, Dolore and the base-though she left out some of the more personal details-when the questions began. A lot of them were similar to the ones she had been asked the night before but some were new entirely. Abe, Red, Liz and Johan sat with Roxanne listening to the answers she gave and waiting for the grilling to cease. Manning looked up from his stack of papers at Roxanne with a very serious expression and asked a question no one was expecting.

"Miss. Stryker, have you ever killed a person?" He asked bluntly. There was a tense silence in the air as no one knew how to react. Roxanne looked at Manning her expression just as serious as his.

"No." She said firmly. "I have broken bones, caused lacerations, and sent more people to the infirmary then I care to remember, but I have _never_ sunken so low as take a human life. I even try to avoid killing monsters if I can." Manning seemed pleased with this answer and nodded while he and the other evaluators wrote on their clipboards.

"Well thank you for telling us all that Miss Stryker. Now there is only one more question to ask;" He said leaning forward and looking Roxanne in the eyes. "Would you like to join Red, Liz, Abe and Johan as a member of the B.R.P.D.?"

"Of course!" was the automatic response. Abe let out a breath of relief looked over to see Liz and Red smiling at the answer-though there was something odd about Red's smile that put Abe on edge-and Johan _seemed_ please with the decision, it was hard to tell.

"Well then, you'll have to pass a series of tests and examinations before being omitted to the team." Manning informed her. "It's a fairly new protocol." He added at the look Hellboy gave him.

"Alright, when will they start?" Roxanne asked.

"Now." Manning said. "You see we anticipated that you might want to join the team so we already have everything set up." Roxanne grinned.

"Let's go then." Everyone quickly got up from the room and followed Manning to an examination room where several men in lab coats were waiting.

The next few hours were a series of examinations; evaluation both her physical health and mental ability. Everything was checked from Roxanne's blood pressure and heart rate to timing how long it took her to solve a puzzle. After several tests Roxanne was declared to be perfectly healthy, with fast reflexes and above normal intelligence; though she wouldn't be considered a genius. After that Manning moved her to the Shooting range where she had to shoot at a variety of targets- both moving and unmoving-with various weapons and make sure to avoid hitting the civilian targets; and she had to doo all of this under "stressful conditions". Which were basically war-like sounds coming from the sounds system and a few strobe lights. Everyone but Roxanne put ear plugs in and walked to stand behind the shrapnel barrier as Roxanne walked up to the first station and put on her safety glasses.

"Miss Stryker you know your objective and you may begin now." Manning said hitting a button on the wall activating the shooting range's functions.

Roxanne quickly grabbed the Smith & Wesson 45 caliber off the table, loaded the magazine into the gun and chambered a bullet. She raised the gun took aim and fired the eight rounds in the magazine before moving to the next station, this process was repeated several times using: an M4 Carbine, a 9 mm beretta, A Glock 9, A 357 Magnum Ruger, an M1 Garand, and a 44 lever action Winchester . When she finished she put the gun down with a slight smile as the light were turned back on and the targets brought forward.

"Let's see how you did." Manning said coming out from behind the barrier with the others. When they saw the targets Hellboy lead out a low whistle.

"Dang kid." He muttered. Every single enemy target had been hit while the civilian prints were completely unscathed.

"Those are military spreads." One of the Evaluators acknowledged. It was true every target had three shots in the upper left hand side of the chest and two directly between the eyes, a strategy used by military and law enforcement all over the world.

"I told you firearms are one of the things I specialize in." Roxanne said her hands in her pockets.

"Right well this is an obvious pass, let's move onto the next test." Manning said writing something down in a folder.

"What test is that?" Roxanne said following him out of the room.

"It's the same skill tested two different ways; hand to hand combat against one and multiple assailants." He told her. Roxanne looked back at Abe and grinned.

"Well let's get to it then." Abe couldn't help but feel bad for the agents who would fight Roxanne.

**

* * *

**

**1:30pm**

The hand to hand combat tests hand gone as Abe expected with Roxanne as the clear victor, and without the use of her powers-which shocked the evaluators because they hadn't seen a girl take down seven grown men single handed before. The testing had continued for the next hour, examining all of Roxanne's physical abilities from running, to the extent of her powers, and she passed all tests with flying colors. But now it was time for the final and what most found to be the hardest test. Manning led Roxanne to a steel door that opened to reveal a small chamber with a large door on the opposite wall that would slide into the ceiling when a button was pressed.

"At the B.P.R.D. we often have to go through other monsters to get to the person or being we want. This exercise simulates that experience." He explained. "On the other side of that door is a small arena with several other doors leading to rooms like this one. In the arena there are ten agents with paintball guns, set on protecting an automaton of a monster. They know you're coming, but they don't know from which door. Your job is to get past the agents, to the monster and dispatch it using this." He handed Roxanne a replica handgun.

"This gives off an electrical impulse that shuts down the automaton when you fire it at the monster from within five feet. You need to disable the automaton before the timer of five minutes runs out and without being hit by a paintball. Good luck." And with that Manning and the evaluators walked into the arena where they would observe Roxanne, leaving her with Abe, Liz, Red and Johan.

Don't worry Kid, we all had to do it; it's not that hard." Red told her. Roxanne nodded.

"Do you guys think I should make this quick and efficient or big and memorable?" She asked.

"Do whatever you most comfortable with." Liz said. Roxanne nodded and took a breath before stepping into the room.

"You'll do magnificently Roxanne." Abe said placing a hand on her shoulder. Roxanne smiled.

"Thanks guys." Though she was talking to everyone it was clear to them that she was really talking to Abe, well...it was clear to three of them.

"Gute luck!" Johan called as the door began to lower. When it shut the four went to go and watch Roxanne in the arena. Once seated in the stands Manning hit an intercom button and spoke into it.

"Are you ready Miss Stryker?" He asked.

"Yes." Came the reply from the speaker.

"Agents are you ready?" He said to them men on the field. There were verbal and physical responses as the ten agents drew their paint ball guns and formed a wide circle around the automaton, which roared to life.

"On my mark the exercise will begin." Manning said. "5...4...3...2...1...begin!"

All of the metal doors in the arena rolled upwards and the agents raised their guns looking for the room that contained Roxanne. But all of them were empty.

"What?" Manning asked confuses. "Where did she go?" He looked at the four agents who shrugged.

Suddenly the agent's paintball guns flew from their hands and to the far right side of the arena. Then a small section of the dirt floor opened up under each agent sucking them in and leaving the automation unprotected. Moments later ten very confused agents were shot from the floor and landed in a pile on the far left side of the arena as if the ground had spit them out. By this point the automaton was looking around frantically and moving in a random way in a hope to avoid being sucked into the floor. Everything was eerily quiet and all eyes-agent and spectator alike-were scanning for the slightest hint of movement, when suddenly a slight grinding sound was heard and Roxanne shot up out of the ground in front of the automaton streamline, with such speed that she was propelled into the air, where she flipped over the metal monster and landed on her feet behind it. The second her feet touched the ground she spun around to face the automatons back, raised the electronic gun and fired a deadly expression on her face. The machine stopped moving and slumped over unmoving as Roxanne lowered the gun and turned to face the others. Manning's mouth was hanging open and the other evaluators looked over at the timer with shocked expressions where **1min. 45sec. **was displayed in red. It had only taken Roxanne 45 seconds to clear one of the hardest tests.

"Yeah! Go Kid!" Hellboy yelled out breaking the spell of silence. Abe then stood up and began to applaud as a slow smile crept across Roxanne's face. Manning then closed his mouth and exited the arena with the others to meet Roxanne outside in the hall.

"Well obviously Miss Stryker you passed." He said as he and the other evaluators scribbled on their clipboards. "The board of executives will be informed and they will be arriving later this evening from Washington, and they will conduct the final interview."

"Is there a dress code?" Roxanne asked.

"Yes," Manning said with a nod. "Formal attire is required."

"But the only thing I have that's close to formal is my uniform from the base." Roxanne protested.

"Well then you'll have to wear that." Manning told her. "In fact they want you to wear it. I don't know why though." He muttered. "Also, when you introduce yourself you should probably go by your old rank. They will respect you more that way." Roxanne looked as if she wanted to protest further but she nodded.

"Good. They board will be here at around four so be outsidethe meeting room by ten after." He said before walking off with the evaluators. Roxanne sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"I should go and get my uniform ready." She said to Red, Abe, Liz and Johan.

Gez, already? Man you girls take forever to get ready, don't you?" Red asked with a smirk. Roxanne let out a slight laugh.

"Actually, it takes so long because everything on the uniform has to be in a precise place. Like the pins on the jacket collar have to be a quarter's distance from the edge, so it takes some time to set up.

"I would lend you something but I don't think they would fit." Liz said apologetically to the slightly taller girl.

"It's fine, besides; Manning said they _want_ me to wear my uniform, so I don't have much of a choice."

"Do not vorry Miss. Stryker, ve vill be zere vith you for ze interview." Johan said. Patting Roxanne on the shoulder.

"Thanks guys." Roxanne smiled.

"Of course Roxanne," Abe told her.

"Well I'm gonna go and get ready." Roxanne said. "I see you guys in a bit." She then walked away toward her room.

"We'll meet you here around four." Abe said to her retreating figure. Roxanne nodded but didn't respond verbally as she disappeared around the corner. The other dismissed themselves to their rooms each finding something to do until four O'clock.

* * *

**4:02pm**

Abe quickly made his way down the halls of the Bureau to the meeting Room as he fastened the top button of his shirt. Normally he wouldn't have changed out of his swimming shorts but Manning had said the meeting required formal attire, so he was wearing a white button up shirt, a pair of black slack, and dress shoes. As he walked he became aware of the rhythmic clicking of dress shoes on the granite floor. He could tell that they weren't coming toward him or going away, so he figured someone was pacing. He counted the steps to be sure: 1, 2, 3, pause, swish. 1, 2, 3, 4, pause, swish. This pattern repeated and Abe confirmed someone was indeed pacing the floor around the corner. When he rounded said corned he paused to see a grey clad figure walking back and forth across the floor with its hands clasped behind its back and its shoulders bent slightly. It was Roxanne in her uniform. She continued to pace and Abe noticed she was scowling, at what he didn't know. She hadn't seemed to notice him yet so he decided to wait and see if she would, while he did this he also took in her uniform.

Her black dress shoes has been shined to a point that Abe could see his reflection in them, her white shirt collar reached just below her jaw with the black **C** on either side clearly visible, her black tie was crisp looking with a small gold pin of the Master soldier symbol keeping the two pieces together, and her jacket was fitted to her perfectly, with all of the gold buttons shining. All of the pins and ribbons that had been in a plastic bag the night before were now placed on the lapel of the jacket, he hadn't realized just how many there were the night before, because what seemed like a few then now turned out to cover the entire upper left side of her jacket. The gold and black cord around her right shoulder and black belts were hanging in perfect alignment; though the gun holster was absent from the belt. The silver eagles and stars on her shoulders contrasted well with the dark colors of the suit, and the nametag on her right lapel was sitting perfectly straight. She was wearing the black leather gloves which were also fitted to her hands. The grey bullion hat was resting atop her head with the base of the cap running parallel to the ground and the visor covering her face slightly per military standards. Abe took all of this in about Roxanne in about five seconds. Abe also noticed that when in uniform she had an air of power, strength and grace hanging about her. That coupled with the scowl on her face made her a frightening sight to behold. Though, for some reason this air about her seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place it. Abe continued to watch her for a moment before speaking.

"My, my, aren't we a serious one." He called jokingly. Roxanne then stopped her pacing and looked up at him standing straight once again.

"Hey Abe." She called a crooked smile spreading across her face.

"Hello again Roxanne." Abe returned walking to stand before her. With her smile now in place Abe suddenly recalled what was familiar. Her father. In the picture of her and her family her father had the _exact _same presence Roxanne currently carried. He hadn't realized it before, but he now saw that she and her father shared more than just a physical appearance.

"What do you think?" Roxanne asked gesturing to her uniform. Abe looked Roxanne up and down as though he hadn't already. He decided on his most recent impression, instead of the one before. "You look just…like your father."

"Really?" She asked, almost hopefully.

"Yes, you two are very similar aren't you?" Abe asked. Roxanne nodded.

"At least that's what everyone always said. "You're a daddy's little girl aren't you?" and "Oh look, it's like she's a girl version of Robbie!" and "like father like daughter!" I got that all the time before...well, before everything went to hell in a hand basket."

"Is being so much like him a bad thing?" Abe asked curiously.

"Oh no!" Roxanne said immediately. "No, Dad was-and still is-my role model. He was always so strong and brave, and so incredibly kind and caring. And mom was the same way. I wish I could be half of what they were." Abe was about to respond when suddenly a voice boomed from down the hall.

"Wow Kid, you look like a badass!" The voice easily identified as belonging to Red. Roxanne let out a laugh. Red, Liz and Johan were walking down the hall toward them, when they got there they eyed Roxanne.

"Well thank you." She said grin back in place.

"What's that one mean?" Hellboy asked pointing to a medal on Roxanne's lapel. It was a gold star with a silver rifle in the center and a black ribbon with a dark purple stripe running down the center holding it in place.

"That's the equivalent of the Distinguished Service Medal in the U.S. military." Roxanne told them.

"And that is...?" Red trailed off. Roxanne sighed, but Abe answered.

"It's one of the highest ranking medals that can be achieved in the U.S. military second only to the Congressional Medal of Honor." He said.

"Oh, I get it." Red said nodding.

"You look good in uniform Roxanne." Liz said. "Very...intimidating."

"Well I would hope so," Roxanne said. "I was in charge of over five hundred soldiers. I needed to be as intimidating and scary as I could possibly be to keep them in line."

"If you're not in charge of them anymore then why are you trying to look so intimidating?" Red questioned.

"I'm not trying right now actually; I guess it's just an unconscious habit coming back. Something that comes with being Commander Stryker I suppose, I look scary whether I want to or not." Roxanne shrugged.

"Vell, you look very impressive Miss. Stryker." Johan said.

"Thanks a lot guys." She said. "But I just can't wait for this whole thing to be over so I can get out of this stupid thing."

"Why is it itchy or to small?" Red asked.

"No, I just hate it with a passion and now I'm forced to wear it." Came the reply. It was ironic how such a strong statement could be said so calmly, as if commenting on the weather. Just then the doors to the meeting room opened and manning stepped out. He stopped short, slightly shocked at the sight of Roxanne; whose serious expression had returned once again.

"The board is ready for you." He said. Roxanne nodded and began to walk into the room with the others following when Manning stopped them.

"Only Miss. Stryker is allowed." He said.

"What-!" Hellboy began to protest when Roxanne cut him off.

"It's alright; I can handle this on my own." She assured. "I'll meet you guy in the library when this is over." The other agreed to this and Roxanne turned to Manning.

"Should I introduce myself by my title and salute or have them address me first?" She asked.

"Walk up to them salute and then they'll ask for your name and title." Manning said gesturing for Roxanne to go in. She gave the other a quick smile before replacing it with a serious look and walking inside. When the door shut Abe leaned against the wall casually placing his hand against the surface allowing him to see inside.

_**Roxanne walked confidently up to a table with nine people sitting at it. She Stopped five feet from them and raised her right hand sharply in a salute. Manning stood off to the side of the room with his arms folded.**_

"_**What is your name young lady?" An elderly man sitting in the middle of the desk asked.**_

"_**High commander Roxanne Stryker of the consulere, sir." Roxanne replied looking straight ahead.**_

"_**At ease." The man said causing Roxanne to drop her salute, take off her bullion hat and tuck it under her arm.**_

"_**Now Commander Stryker first we would like to know-"**_

"Abe!" The sharp voice from behind him rang out causing him to lose his grip on the wall and lose the vision.

"You weren't spying on a private meeting were you?" Liz asked.

"Well you-I was just-it was-" Abe sighed. "Yes." He muttered. "I just can't help but want to know what going on in there!"

"Alright boys this shouldn't take long, so let's go wait in the library." Liz ordered marching the others off to wait.

* * *

**4:40pm**

The four were sitting in the library talking when the sound of dress shoes on granite could be heard coming down the hall. The closer the sounds got it was recognized as two pairs of shoes and two voices could be heard.

"-Father's, and when I came here Sunday night I had to leave it there." Came a voice they all recognized as belonging to Roxanne.

"How are you sure it's still there?" That voice was unmistakably Manning's.

"Trust me, short of digging up the asphalt it's sitting on, no one is moving it unless I say so." Roxanne said.

"Very well, Hawthorn can take you up there to retrieve it in twenty minutes; He'll be waiting in the lobby." The walking had cease and the library doors were pushed open to reveal Manning and Roxanne who walked in. Roxanne had taken off her hat as it was now tucked under her left arm and her gloves were also missing."Welcome to the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense Agent Stryker." Manning said offering his hand. Roxanne took it with a grin.

"Thank you Doctor Manning, and its Roxanne." Manning nodded and walked away leaving the team with their newest member. Roxanne turned to the other and walked over to them while quickly unclasping the belts from across her torso and around her waist, and then unbuttoning and removing her jacket. Liz met her half way across the room and gave her a brief hug her while the others gathered around.

"I knew you'd make it!" Liz said with a smile after releasing her hold.

"Welcome to the team Roxanne." Abe told her.

"Thanks guys." She said grinning as she loosened her tie and removed it with haste before unbuttoning the top two buttons of her shirt, and rolling the sleeves up.

"Have I mentioned how much I _hate_ this stupid thing?" She asked in response to the questioning looks she received.

"What were you talking to Manning about before coming in?" Red asked sitting back down with Liz again.

"Getting my motorcycle back." Roxanne told them sitting down next to Abe. "He's going to have one of the agents take me up to Danbury in a few, and then I'll drive it back here. In fact I should probably go get ready."

"Alright we'll see you when you get back then." Liz said as Roxanne grabbed her jacket, hat and tie and left the room. Abe watched her leave and looked over to see Red with the same grin from before on his face, though he wasn't the only to notice.

"What's with the smile Red?" Liz asked.  
"Oh I was just thinking about how to welcome the newest member of our team." He said.

"Red if you do anything to her motorcycle, I swear you will regret ever meeting me when I'm done with you." Liz warned.

"Relax babe, I'm not do anything to her bike" Red promised. "I was thinking of something else entirely."

"I can't help but think this isn't going to turn out well." Abe muttered as Red left the room.

* * *

**5:30pm**

Abe was walking down to Hellboy and Liz's room when he heard the sound of a motorcycle in the distance. H quickly headed to the entrance of the B.P.R.D. to see a black clad figure on a motorcycle heading down the long gravel drive at a very fast speed. Roxanne. She slowed slightly as she approached the building and came to a sudden stop spraying up gravel and turning the bike sideways. Abe waited while She turned the ignition off, put down the kickstand and climbed off. The bike was a flat black color with thin dark blue and green stripes following the bike's curves; it was fairly compact but could easily fit two people. Something Abe found odd was that unlike most motorcycles there was no chrome or any silver anywhere on the bike; it was all black apart from the stripes. He then looked over at Roxanne and found she was watching him with her arms crossed, but he couldn't read her expression due to the fact that the polarized visor of her helmet was covering her face. She was wearing her leather jacket, which was zipped up, and a pair of black jeans, along with her boots. The helmet was a full faced one, which was the same colors as the bike, but had a few scratches and one or two very small dents on it. She then reached up and unbuckled the helmet before removing it to reveal she had a grin on her face.

"Like the bike?" She asked tucking the helmet under one arm.

"Oh yes." Abe said nodding. "Though I was wondering, why is it all black? Don't most motorcycles have silver parts?"

"Well, Dad said he never much cared for bikes with chrome, he said they were too shiny for his taste." Roxanne told him. "So he bought one without any instead, and it wasn't surprising he bought an all black one since it was his favorite color." Just then Red and Liz appeared in the doorway behind Abe.

"Nice ride Kid." Hellboy said with a grin.

"Thanks." Roxanne replied while kneeling down and locking her helmet to the bike. Then two lengths of stone shot out of the ground and one wrapped around the base of each tire before connecting to the ground on either side of the tire.

"So that's what you meant when you said no one would be moving the bike." Liz said.

"Yep, this baby doesn't go anywhere without my say so." Roxanne said standing and brushing dirt from her jeans.

"You know I think dinner is gonna be ready soon." Hellboy said. "Who's hungry?" The four made their way to the kitchen and sat down when Johan walked in saying he was late because of some minor accident in his lab. They all ate their respective dinners and hung out in the library afterwards talking and having a good time. As it got later they all left to their respective rooms and as Abe climbed into the tank he was slightly apprehensive about what would transpire in the morning, and if Red was serious about his little "welcoming surprise" for Roxanne.

* * *

**A/N: **so what do you guys think? Can anyone guess what prank Red is going to pull? And more importantly; how will Roxanne react? Find out in the next chapter!

Review please!


	7. Chapter 7: Practical jokes and stalking

**A/N:** Hey guys! So here's chapter seven! Sorry it's been a long wait but this chapter is over a week in the making.

**Disclaimer: **(do I really have to do this?) I don't own Hellboy

**Chapter 7: Practical jokes and stalking**

* * *

**B.P.R.D. 6:37am**

Abe-as always- was up early and reading his books when his sensitive hearing picked up a beeping sound coming from Roxanne's room, he brushed it off as an alarm clock and continued to read. However, twenty minutes later the sound reappeared followed by muttering and what he described as metal being crushed, he was curious to say the least. He listened further and found the next several minutes were a series of loud thumps and crashes coming from Roxanne rooms. A few minutes later he heard Roxanne leave her room and walk down the hall muttering all the while. When she passed his door he made out only one sentence; "I'm gonna kill him."

He decided to leave her be as she was obviously in a foul mood. Ten minutes had passed when he heard Roxanne's almost silent footfalls making their way back down the hall. What interested him however was that she didn't go back into her room; but continued down the hallway. Abe wanted to know if she was alright so he climbed out of his tank, dried off and followed the fading sounds of Roxanne's footsteps. He found her on the back balcony, looking out over the small lake and large field the bureau sat on. She was wearing a tank top and sweat pants with the summer breeze ruffling her hair slightly as she leaned against the railing. He cleared his throat nervously.

"Roxanne?"

"Oh, hey Abe." She turned and smiled at him. "I didn't know anyone else was up."

"I always wake up this early." Abe said coming to stand beside her. "Normally I'm the only one awake, but I heard you leave your room while I was reading."

"I'm not normally awake this early but I was given a series of unwanted wake-up calls." A frown appeared on her face. "That started at three am."

"Red's doing?" He asked. Roxanne nodded.

"Along with a few other things. But I've already dealt with it." At this Abe raised an eyebrow.

"Meaning you've already gotten revenge?" Roxanne grinned.

"Your words not mine." Abe noticed Roxanne shiver slightly as the wind picked up.

"Why don't we go inside?" He offered. She accepted and the two walked back inside.

"You looked fairly deep in thought back there." Abe acknowledged.

"Yes, I was thinking about a few things I have to do today, errands and the like." She said.

"Errands?"

"Yes, you see, I've already book a room for the next two weeks at an inn, so I'm going to go down there and cancel my reservations. I also need to get my money back for that museum ticket, and some other stuff." The two had now reached the library and sat down inside.

"You must have traveled a lot." Abe said. Rose nodded again.

"I've stayed in every state for at least two weeks. Spent New Year's Eve in time square, seen the geysers at Yellowstone, celebrated Mardi gras in New Orleans, I've even seen the aurora borealis." She sighed and ran a hand down her face." Now don't get me wrong, I loved having seen and done all that, but no matter how entertaining it's been it never gets any easier, always on the move, I've haven't had a real place to live in years. It's depressing really."

"Well, now you have a home." Abe said placing a hand on her shoulder. "And the bureau is hard to find, let alone get into. Plus Johan, Red, Liz and I are here for you. After all; all we freaks have is each other."

"Thanks Abe." Roxanne smiled.

"But, what did you mean by "No matter how entertaining"?" He questioned.

"As you can imagine I've seen some pretty funny and odd stuff." Roxanne let out a laugh. "Like once in Las Vegas I saw a man who had dyed his skin different colors, and painted designs on his chest, run out into traffic wearing only his boxers, and start dancing in the street while shouting gibberish."

"You're joking. What happened?" Abe asked.

"Nope, not joking; in fact he was ten feet from my motorcycle. As for what happened I'm not sure; I drove past him once the light turned green. I assume the police were called." Roxanne shrugged.

"My, that _is_ entertaining. Strange…but entertaining."

"That's not even the strangest thing I've seen." Roxanne said leaning forward. "I remember I was at Coachella Fest one year when…" The two then began to talk all about their various life experiences, and things they've seen or done. Talk of experiences soon turned into talking about themselves in general and before they knew it they were talking as if they had known each other for years instead of a few days. Their conversation was interrupted however around nine thirty when the sound of a nearby door slamming open and shouting greeted their ears.

"That'll be Red." Roxanne said.

"What did you do to him?" Abe questioned listening to the shouting grow louder.

"You'll see." Roxanne said with a sly smile. At that moment Hellboy charged in through the doors.

"Where is she?" He demanded.

"I suppose you mean me?" Roxanne asked smiling brightly. Red crossed the room to stand over her.

"What is this?" He shoved his stone hand in Roxanne face.

"A daisy." Was the simple reply.

"Why is my hand shaped like a daisy?" He shouted. And it was true; Red's once stone hand was now a red stone daisy at the end of his wrist, and engraved around the base the word; _sissy_ could be seen. There were also several crudely drawn flowers on his forehead in black marker.

"I didn't feel like making a rose." Roxanne shrugged.

"Fix it!" By this point a slightly out of breath Liz had reached the library and walked in followed by Johan.

"I don't know, I think it looks better this way." Roxanne said contemplatively. Red growled deep in his throat. "Oh alright." Then Red's daisy of a hand began to shift and was soon back to normal. He opened and closed his hands a few times before squinting at his wrist.

"The writing too." He said.

"You're no fun." Roxanne muttered before setting him completely right. "I won't be able to fix what's on your forehead though. Besides, you know you deserved it."

"No I didn't." he shot back.

"Oh really?" Roxanne stood up and reached into her sweats pocket pulling out what once could be described as a mini-alarm clock. "Then can you explain how thirty of these made their way into my room and started going off at three in the morning and kept going off every ten minutes? Or tell me who poured cooking oil on the floor of my room so I would slip? Or perhaps who put clear saran wrap over my bathroom door and toilet seat? As far as I'm concerned, we're even now. " Red leaned down toward Roxanne.

"Well kid, I don't play to get even…I play to win." With that he picked Roxanne up and slung her over his shoulder.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Roxanne shouted while struggling as Red began to jog.

"Red…" Liz said in a warning tone. But he ignored her and started climbing the spiral staircase at a run.

"Oh, no." Abe muttered realizing what Red was going to do. He also recalled something Roxanne had told him earlier, a phobia of hers. He ran up the stairs after Red. "Red, put her down."

"Oh, I'll put her down all right." Red called from the top of the stair case. Roxanne began struggling with a renewed energy.

"Agent Hellboy, perhaps zis iz not zuch a good idea." Johan chimed in from below.

"Red, please! Put me down." Roxanne shouted as Red quickly covered the long distance from the stairs to Abe's tank. "This is serious!"

"What exactly is so serious?" Red Asked adjusting his hold on Roxanne. He then stood at the edge of Abe's tank and threw Roxanne in. Moments before Red released her she gave one last shout.

"I can't swim!" Red froze were he stood, eyes wide as realization dawned on him, but it was too late Roxanne had gone under. Abe ran across the deck and pushed passed Red, diving into the water. Roxanne had only been under water for a few seconds before Abe wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to the surface. He quickly brought her to the edge and lifted her out of the water, where she laid back on the deck coughing. He climber out of the tank and knelt beside her as she shakily pushed herself onto all fours.

"Are you alright Roxanne?" He asked the concern clear in his voice. She nodded mutely, and he helped her stand up while draping a towel over her shoulders. She brushed her sopping wet bangs out her eyes and leveled a glare at Hellboy.

"You know what Red? I think you're going to have to shower to get rid of all that sharpie on your head. Let me give you a head start." With that Red's right arm jerked outward and led him as he was sharply pulled headlong into the tank. He resurfaced spluttering indignantly and climbed out. He grabbed a towel and walked up to Roxanne glaring down at her. She returned her own glare and stood chest to chest-well, chest to head-with him.

"What kind of Master Soldier can't swim?" He shouted.

"One who almost drowned when she was five!" Roxanne shot back.

"Why didn't they teach you at that military place? Did they want you to drown?" He demanded.

"No! But everyone had their own personal phobias or problems that couldn't be fixed. Some were afraid of spiders, others gambled, one guy was even deathly afraid of clocks! My issue is that I can't swim. Besides, it's not like I was ever expected to _swim_ to a facility I was breaking into!"

"That's enough!" Liz stepped forward pushing the two a few steps back. "You two are acting like a couple of five year olds! I am officially ending this little prank war of yours; before someone get's seriously hurt." She turned to Roxanne. "_You_ almost drowned," She rounded on Hellboy. "_You_ almost caused it _and_ you don't need to get in anymore trouble around here. You guys are supposed to be a team; act like it." Hellboy looked at his girlfriend and sighed before looking at Roxanne.

"I'm sorry about…well everything. Especially throwing you in the water." He grumbled looking down.

"I'm sorry about everything too, and it's alright; you didn't know." Roxanne stuck out her hand.

"Truce?" Hellboy took the offered hand in his.

"Truce." He agreed. "I'll be back in a bit; I'm gonna go get cleaned up."

"Yeah me too." Roxanne agreed. The two then left for their rooms leaving Johan, Abe and Liz.

"Vell zat vas…interesting." Johan said.

"I just hope they're done screwing with each other." Liz muttered sitting down.

"I do too, apparently though Roxanne is stubborn just like Red." Abe noted.

"Iz zat a good zing, or a bad zing?" Johan asked.

"No idea." Liz murmured. "But I pray it's a good thing." The statement was greeted with nods.

* * *

It had been about an hour since the library and Abe went to go check on Roxanne. He knocked on the door to her room and was greeted with a "come in." Upon entering he saw Roxanne fully dress in a t-shirt, jeans, boots, belt and her leather jacket while putting a few items into a small backpack.

"Hey Abe." She said looking up. "Need something?"

"No, I just came to make sure-that is…are you sure you're alright?" He asked.

"Oh yeah, I'm perfectly fine now. Thanks for asking, well actually, I didn't get a chance it say it earlier but…thank you for, well; saving me. If you hadn't been there, it probably would have been a quite bit worse."

"Anything for a friend." He returned. He then gestured to her bag. "I take it you're going on those errands you mentioned earlier?" Roxanne nodded. "You should probably tell Manning. He doesn't like it when we disappear without telling him."

"I already did, and I'm okay to leave." Roxanne said. She grabbed her bag and walked over to Abe. "So I'll see you later today." Abe reciprocated her statement and left the room with her. Seconds after she rounded the hall corned Manning came around it.

"Fish stick, just who I wanted to see." He said. Abe walked over to him. "As you know Stryker is leaving to run some errands, though she didn't exactly say what. Something about a hotel reservation. Well, the bureau doesn't trust anyone right off the bat, so I want you and Hawthorn to follow her."

"Me?" Abe asked. "Why me?"

"We need someone discreet, someone who can blend. Liz will draw attention because she's pregnant, Dr. Krauss would never work because of the suit and Hellboy…he wouldn't know the meaning of the word discreet if it kicked him where the sun doesn't shine."

"How exactly am I supposed to blend in? I'm a blue, physic, fish-man."

"Hawthorn has regular clothes waiting for you. They will hide your appearance."

"This isn't a request is it?" Abe sighed. Manning nodded. "Alright, where's Agent Hawthorn?"

"Out by the car, He also has a head set and mic for you." With that Abe left to the garage where as promised Hawthorn was waiting. He quickly put on the jeans, shoes, black t-shirt and hoodie waiting for him, along with his gloves, a pair of sun glasses and the headset and clip-on microphone.

"I look like a hoodlum." He grumbled as he checked his image in the car's mirror once on the road.

"I don't know Blue," Hawthorn responded. "I think it makes you look mysterious and cool, like a man with a secret."

"In other words; a hoodlum." Abe responded. He then looked ahead of them. "How do we even know where she is? I can't see her motorcycle anywhere." Hawthorn pulled out a GPS and placed it in a holder by the radio.

"Yesterday after she got back, we placed a small wafer thin tracker on her motorcycle. And right now it's pulling into Bridgeport."

"I don't like this, following her that is. I mean what reason has given for us to distrust her?"

"What reason has given us to trust her?" Hawthorn returned. "I don't like it much either Abe, but it's just to be safe." Abe folded his arms over his chest and looked out the window as they pulled into town.

"Looks like she's stopped." Hawthorn noted. "Outside a building called "The Snugly Duckling Inn", and it's just around the corner."

"Where are you letting me out?" Abe asked.

"Right here." The car stopped and Abe climbed out looking across the street to see Roxanne climbing off her motorcycle, lock up her helmet and fix her hair before walking toward the small Inn. Once she was inside he adjusted his hood and glasses, walked across the street and leaned against the Inn's wall. He then removed his glove and folded his hands behind his back while pressing his ungloved hand to the wall. The scene playing out inside came to his mind.

_**Roxanne walked across the lobby to the receptionist desk where a short elderly woman sat looking over a few papers. She looked up when Roxanne reached the desk.**_

"_**Welcome to the Snugly Duckling, how may I…" She stopped short. "Roxanne!"**_

"_**Hello Mrs. Dawson." Roxanne grinned as the woman made her way around the desk. She embraced Roxanne briefly before stepping back to look her up and down.**_

"_**Oh, look at you; I believe you've gotten even taller." She said then her face fell slightly. "The year certainly has left its mark on you hasn't it?"**_

"_**No, I'm the same height as I was before ma'am." Roxanne said. "And I may look different but I promise I'm just the same as I was before." Suddenly Mrs. Dawson let go of Roxanne and went to a door behind the desk.**_

"_**Baxter, come see who's here!" Mrs. Dawson yelled into the back. **_

"_**I'm commin' Sue, I'm commin'." Said a male voice. A tall elderly man with graying hair and wire rimmed glasses walked into the lobby and grinned at Roxanne.**_

"_**Well, if it isn't little Roxanne, though you're not so little anymore, are you?" He said embracing Roxanne. **_

"_**Hi Mr. Dawson." Roxanne said returning the hug.**_

"_**I'm glad to see you," Mr. Dawson said. "You called last week and said you'd be here Sunday, but when Sunday came around and you didn't show; we got a little worried."**_

"_**We thought those people got a hold of you." Mrs. Dawson said.**_

"_**I had a bit of trouble but everything's been resolved. No one's come around giving you any trouble have they?" She asked.**_

"_**That Mark fellow came around last week asking if you checked in yet." Mrs. Dawson told her with a frown.**_

"_**But I said you hadn't and even if you had that I wouldn't tell him." Mr. Dawson said folding his arms across his chest.**_

"_**You see him around here again feel free to call the police." Roxanne informed.**_

"_**I intend to." Mr. Dawson returned. He then grinned at Roxanne. "I take it you won't be checking in?"**_

"_**No, sadly I won't."**_

"_**So you found a proper place to live then?" Mrs. Dawson asked excitedly.**_

"_**Yes, it's not too far from here." Mrs. Dawson hugged Roxanne.**_

"_**I'm so glad dear; it's not right for a young woman to spend her life living out of hotel rooms. And you've spent almost a decade doing that."**_

"_**Well, I won't be anymore." Roxanne said.**_

"_**Let me get you your money back." Mr. Dawson said turning toward the front desk. But Roxanne stopped him.**_

"_**I want you to keep it. For your trouble."**_

"_**It's no trouble." He said turning again.**_

"_**I insist." Roxanne stood in front of him blocking his way. "In fact, I have something else I want to give you."**_

_**She then reached into her backpack, pulled out her wallet, took out what appeared to be few hundred dollars and held them out to Mr. Dawson.**_

"_**Roxanne, we can't accept this." Mrs. Dawson said. **_

"_**Oh but you can." Roxanne replied.**_

"_**There is no reason for you to give us this." Mr. Dawson folded his arms across his chest.**_

"_**Yes there is. It's for everything the two of you have done for me over the years. When I first met you my life wasn't exactly made of sunshine and roses, and you have no idea how much you two have helped me since then." Roxanne said. "Please, it would mean the world to me if you would just accept this as a minor thank you for everything."**_

"_**Only if you promise to visit." Mrs. Dawson said.**_

"_**Of course." Roxanne said placing the money in Mr. Dawson's hand.**_

"_**I would love to spend some more time with you guys but I have to get going." Roxanne said apologetically.**_

"_**We understand, you're going to see them right?" Mrs. Dawson asked. Roxanne nodded and said her goodbyes to the couple and gave then each a parting hug before walking toward the door.**_

Abe yanked his hand from the door and quickly walked to the alley next to the building, hiding in the shadows. Abe watched as Roxanne bypassed her motorcycle and walked down the side walk toward his alley. He slunk back further into it praying she didn't look inside. When she walked past he let out a breath and contacted Hawthorn.

"What's up Blue?" Hawthorn asked.

"She went in, spoke to the innkeepers and cancelled her reservation. They seem to be close to her somehow though." Abe said. "Now she's walking down the street toward a flower vendor."

"Keep me posted." Was the reply. Abe watched as Roxanne approached the stall and spoke to a middle aged man working the stall that grinned and shook Roxanne's hand. He asked her a question and she nodded pulling out her wallet again. The man handed Roxanne three black roses and she paid him for them before gently tucking them into her backpack. She grinned and shook the man's hand again before turning back in the direction of her motorcycle.

"She bought three roses and is now heading back to her bike." Abe said into his mic.

"Right, I'm park just around the corner, so come back once she pulls out." Hawthorn told him. Roxanne's bike roared down the street and Abe made his way back to the car. One inside he lowered his hood and removed his glasses.

"Let's find out where she's heading next." Hawthorn said turning on the GPS. They waited a moment before beginning to follow her.

"She is so speeding." Hawthorn said rolling his eyes. They followed Roxanne to the outskirts of town before she moved off the main road and onto a side street. "Odd, the GPS says there isn't much out here, so what's she doing?"

"I don't know." Abe responded. They continued to follow Roxanne at a distance when it seemed she was getting ready to stop. She lead them up to a gated off area with a guard booth.

"Where are we?" Abe asked.

"There's a sign up here," Hawthorn said squinting out the windshield. "It says; Bridgeport cemetery."

"My god." Abe murmured placing a hand over his mouth. It all made sense; she had been so vague about her "errands" because they were a sensitive issue. She said her family died during the summer, and were buried in Bridgeport. She always came out to Bridgeport this time of year, she had purchased three black roses that afternoon and Mrs. Dawson had asked her if she was going to see "them".

"What is it?" Hawthorn asked.

"She is going to visit her family; today is the anniversary of their deaths."

"Oh," Was the mumbled reply. "We still have to follow her in though." With that he drove to the booth, he was about to wave his badge when the guard told him to go on through. They drove through a grove of trees following the winding road while looking for Roxanne.

"There she is." Abe said pointing ahead. And sure enough Roxanne was standing next to her motorcycle, taking the Roses from her backpack before she began picking her way across the grass covered field. She stopped next to a tree and stood looking down with a sad expression. She seemed to be thinking.

"You have to go out there you know." Hawthorn said. "We need to know what she's doing."

"What?" Abe demanded. "Do you have any idea of how personal this is? She is standing over the graves of her only family that die when she was _eight_, we shouldn't even _be_ here let alone contemplating spying on her! I think this is enough intruding on her personal life, I've done what Manning wanted and proved she's not up to anything bad but I refuse to continue with this game of cloak and dagger."

"Hey, I don't like this either." Hawthorn defended. "But we have orders and while _you_ are a person of value to the bureau, _I'm_ replaceable. In fact, do you know how many people are fighting for the chance to get to work with the famous Hellboy and company? I'm lucky to have gotten this job."

"Fine." Abe relented. He cast his eyes around looking for a place he could hide behind. He spotted a mausoleum not to far from where Roxanne was. "Drop me off behind there. That way she won't see me.

Once hidden behind the mausoleum Abe climbed out and Hawthorn drove away.

"I feel like a stalker." Abe muttered before he knelt down and placed his hand against the ground so he could see and hear Roxanne.

_**Roxanne stood looking down at three headstones deep in thought. Suddenly she sighed and knelt down placing one rose on each stone. Her hands trailed to her neck where she pulled out a pair of dog tags from under her shirt. She removed them from her head and looked at them for a moment before unclasping the chain and sliding what appeared to be a ring and a bracelet of some kind from the chain. She placed the dog tags on the headstone to her right and the ring on the one to her left and the bracelet on the headstone in the middle. She stayed silent for a few more minutes, her head bowed before she began to speak.**_

_**She addressed all three graves and spoke as if her parents and brother were sitting in front of her instead of six feet under her. She talked about events of the year; a few run-ins with Dolore's men, things she did that year, people she met. She said how much she loved and missed them, and how she hated that they would miss out on so much. Abe listened with interest when she mentioned the events of the other night.**_

"…_**So I now work with the FBI at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. The people I'm working with are all very nice. There's Hellboy, we kinda got off to a rocky start but he's nice. Liz, she Hellboy's girlfriend and is pyrokineitc. Johan who was human once but it's hard to explain what he is now, he's very nice too. And then there's Abe, Abe is…an ichthyo Sapien; yes I think that's the right word. He is so smart and probably one of the kindest people I've ever met. I'm going to be working with them to protect people from monsters, entities and the like. I'll be **_**really**_** protecting people, unlike when I joined Dolore. God, I was so stupid. I don't know why I believed him, but I guess I just wanted to make you guys proud of me. I've only ever wanted to make you guys proud of me. But how could be proud of what I did when I worked for him, all I ever did was be a demanding, intimidating and emotionally detached leader who helped turn perfectly normal and sweet kids into heatless soldiers." Her voice cracked here and Abe saw something shiny make its way down her cheek. It was a single tear. She reached up and brushed the tear away clearing her throat.**_

"_**I'm going to change all that though. I'm going to erase what I've done in the past. I'm going to make it so when people hear my name they won't be afraid, they'll be happy…at least I hope they will. But most of all; I just want you three to be proud. I love you all, so very much, and I miss you more than you'll ever know. I'll see you next year." Roxanne then looked up at the mausoleum.**_

"_**You can come out now Abe." She said still kneeling.**_

Abe ripped his hand from the ground and looked up shocked. How did she know he was there? He didn't make a sound and she hadn't seen him at all earlier.

'Are you gonna come out, or do I have to go back there?" Roxanne's voice floated back to him. Sighing he walked out from behind the mausoleum toward Roxanne guiltily. She was sitting on the balls of her feet with her arms folded across her chest.

"How did you know?" He asked quietly.

"What are you walking on?" She asked. He looked down and suddenly it hit him, the entire day he had been standing on either stone or dirt, of course her powers would have alerted her to anyone following her. "There was also this." She said.

Reaching into her pocket she pulled out what appeared to be a silver dollar. She flipped it up in that air and caught it, holding it out in her palm for him to see. It was the tracking wafer.

"Did they really think they could place a piece of metal on my bike without me noticing?" She asked. So she clearly didn't blame him for following her. "I always do a sweep of my bike before I get on it, looking for anything that isn't supposed to be there. First time I've found one of these though, I've only ever found crappy attempts at explosives before."

"So you've know the entire time then?" He asked. Roxanne nodded.

"That was quick, thinking hiding in the alley by the way." She said. "And you should tell manning next time he sends someone out of to spy on someone else; he shouldn't use the car with the U.S. exempt license plates." Abe was confused, he had spied on her, followed her and trespassed into a very personal moment…yet she was acting like nothing happened.

"Aren't you angry?"

"No, I know the bureau doesn't fully trust me right away. In fact I would think less of them if they did." She then reached down and began collecting the objects she had placed on the graves. The dog tags were taken from her father's grave, she took a diamond ring from her mother's and slid it on the dog tags chain, and from her little brother's grave she took a very small medical ID bracelet and slid it onto the chain with the ring. She saw his curious gaze and held up the objects.

"I suppose you want to know what these are and why I carry them with me everywhere?" She asked.

"If you don't mind." He responded. Roxanne held out the items to him and he took them examining them carefully.

"After my family died Dolore wouldn't let me take much with me, but these are three of the things the hospital gave me." She said. She then pointed to each object in turn. "The dog tags were my dad's, he wore them everywhere because he was still active duty. The ring is my mom's engagement ring. And the bracelet is my little brother's medical ID, saying that he was hypoglycemic and allergic to amoxicillin and azythromycin. I decided to take these things because they are something that their owners would wear everyday and I would do the same, keep them with me every day."

Abe didn't know what to say, so he wordlessly handed the chain of object back to Roxanne who put it around her neck and tucked it back under her shirt.

"So I'm done with everything I have to do today." She stood up and Abe noticed unlike most she didn't dust the dirt off her pants. He realized that was probably because she was comfortable around earth.

"Hawthorn's a slow driver isn't he?" She asked walking back toward her bike. Abe nodded."I'm glad I don't have to drive back with him."

"The man drives like a snail. And speaking of him I have to let him know the game is over." Abe said following. He then turned on his headset and contacted the agent. When the black car pulled up Hawthorn's mouth dropped open at seeing Abe next to Roxanne. He rolled down the window to speak but Roxanne tossed him the tracking wafer with a wink as she walked past to her motorcycle.

"Nice try." She said before putting on her helmet and sitting on her bike. "See you boys back at the bureau."

With that she kicked her bike to life and sped down the path toward the gate. Abe climbed into the car and removed his glassed headset and mic. Hawthorn turned to him holding the tracker between his thumb and forefinger.

"She knew the entire time?" He asked. Abe nodded causing Hawthorn to let out a low whistle. "She's a smart one that's for sure."

And with that statement Abe couldn't agree more.

* * *

**A/N:** yay it's finished! Again sorry it's been a while but I'm currently fighting three different types of sickness and was watching my younger cousins all last week, but enough of my excuses. **PLEASE REVIEW!** :D


	8. Understandings

**A/N: **hi everybody, long time no read, eh? *ducks arrows and axes* OI! If you kill me now you'll never know how the story ends! I'm SOOO sorry I've been gone for so long but it would seem fate said: "Wait, you mean everything's going smoothly in your life? You're _happy_ with how things are? We can't have that!" And then everything went to hell in a hand-basket and I'm still wading through all of the crap while trying to get everything settled. So I haven't had much time to write even though I do so every time I get the chance.

In the last chapter it might appear to some like Roxanne only knew the Dawson's for a few years, that's a typo and its fixed here.

_Thoughts & conversations telepathically with Abe are italic _

Anyway here's chapter 8, ENJOY!

**Disclaimer: ** I don't own anything...yet *unrolls plans for time machine*

* * *

**Chapter 8: Understandings **

**B.P.R.D. Thursday, 11:15 am**

Abe was in his tank reading like he did every other day, but today something was different. Today Roxanne sat on the couch across from him; glasses perched on her nose which was buried in a book. They had come to the library after breakfast and had sat in silence since, finding each other's company relaxing. Occasionally Roxanne got up to turn the pages of his books for him and Abe would glance at her, or his attention would be drawn to her when she would shift on the couch or adjust her glasses and each time he looked at her his eyes would linger a little longer than before. Through his observing he noticed that she seemed distracted by something, her eyes would often stray from her book and look around; more often than not she would look at him before quickly looking back to her book when their eyes met. It was after one of these moments that Abe decided to see what was bothering her.

"Are you alright Roxanne?" He questioned. "You seem troubled."

"Oh, I'm fine Abe. Just thinking is all." She replied quickly.

"Do you mind if I ask what you were thinking about?"

"Not at all." She replied looking at him and removing her glasses. "Yesterday after dinner Red told me to "watch what I think" around you. Why would he say that?"

"Well, he would say that because I have the ability to enter the minds of others and know what they're thinking and or converse with them." He said watching to see how she would react.

"Really?" Roxanne asked to which Abe nodded. "Have you ever gone into my mind?"

"No." Abe said firmly. "I rarely go into someone's mind without their permission because I find it incredibly rude. And I only really go into Red's mind without permission because how angry he get's is amusing to me." Roxanne nodded in understanding.

"Can you hear someone if they call your name mentally?" She asked as Abe climbed out of the tank and dried himself before coming down the stairs.

"Yes, I can also hear them if they're mentally yelling." He said as he sat next to her on the couch.

"Interesting, mind if I try?"

"Go right ahead." Abe said.

_Abe? Can you hear me? God I feel stupid talking to myself. _Came Roxanne's voice in his mind.

_Hello Roxanne. And I assure you; you are far from stupid._ Abe replied watching Roxanne's eyes widen and a grin spread across her face.

_That's so cool!_

_I'm glad you think so._

_How long can you talk like this? _

_As long as I want._

_That's amazing, what's your range?_

_Thank you and I could hear Hawthorn for over two hundred miles without any strain when we tested it. But I was wondering if I could ask you a few question of my own. _Abe said with slight hesitation.

_Sure, what about? _Roxanne replied leaning back on the couch.

_About yesterday, but only if you're comfortable with it._

_Go right ahead. _Roxanne said.

_Please tell me if I'm over stepping but I can't help but wonder how you know Mr. and Mrs. Dawson and how much they know about you?_

_I've no problem telling you that. You already know my parents were born and raised in Bridgeport and they moved out to Colorado when my Dad joined the army. Well, the Dawson's used to teach at my parents' high school, plus they were friends of my dad's parents so they were really close to my mom and dad growing up. After my parents got married-which Mr. and Mrs. D say they knew was going to happen from the instant the two met-they became like adoptive members of the family I guess. By that time my grandparents had passed away and I guess they kinda filled that role, so by the time I was born they were a Permanente fixture. They always visited us in Colorado during the holidays and we'd go see them during the summer. Since they knew me since I was born they knew about my abilities and because I couldn't control them when I was little they would always try to keep me from getting upset so my powers didn't go haywire by way of bribing me with candy. _A slight smile crossed Roxanne's face but was quickly replaced with a frown as she continued.

_Then after my parents died the Dawson's fought for custody of me but lost because Dolore had managed to get his hands on my parents will beforehand and changed it to make him my guardian. Like I said before I couldn't care less who I was going with because I was too upset at the time, though I did always wonder why a stranger was my guardian over two people I knew my whole life. But anyway that's off topic. So I said goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. D and went with Dolore. _

Abe nodded processing the new information when a new question came to mind. _I understand,_ _but how did you find the Dawson's again after leaving Dolore? _

Roxanne nodded and began again._ Years later when doing the file digging that lead me to discover the reason my parents died I found who my real legal guardians were: Susan R. Dawson and Baxter A. Dawson. That pissed me off even more and added to my drive to leave. So after I left and got my dad's bike back I decided to head to Bridgeport because the anniversary was coming up. I got there about two weeks early so I made a stone hut in a secluded area outside town to stay in. The day of the anniversary I went into town and found a flower stand that sold my mom's favorite flowers, black roses. So I went to the cemetery and when driving up to the plots my parents and brother were in I noticed two people standing at them. I thought it might have been Dolore's people so I went further up the road, parked, doubled back on foot and hid behind the same mausoleum that you did. I was expecting a fight so imagine my surprise when the two people I thought I'd never see again were standing not twenty yards from me. I watched them put flowers on the graves and Mr. D held Mrs. D when she started to cry then they said a few words I couldn't hear and left a few minutes later._

_Why didn't you tell them you were there? _Abe Questioned.

_I figured it would be best if they didn't know, that way Dolore couldn't give them any trouble. Anyway I paid my yearly visit, put the roses down by the one the Dawsons had left then headed out. Now don't get me wrong, I love rock and dirt but after two weeks outside I missed having a bed and blankets so I decided to go to the small Inn I remembered seeing next to the flower stand earlier that day and spend a few days resting there. And as for what happened after that...I think it would be easier to show you rather than describe it. _

Roxanne held out her right hand to Abe who placed his hand in her's. A stream of images flashed in front of his eyes before settling on the scene Roxanne wanted to show him.

**A very tired Roxanne climbed off her motorcycle and locked up her bike and helmet before walking into the Inn, adjusting the straps to her backpack. The lobby was warmly decorated Roxanne noted as she made her way toward the young woman behind reception desk. She was about to ask for a room when a gleaming plaque on the wall behind the woman caught her attention and made her freeze. On it in flowing script were the words; **_**Proprietors of the Ugly Duckling: Susan R. Dawson & Baxter A. Dawson. **_**Roxanne remained frozen in place as a hundred thoughts ran through her mind, the main one being "oh shit." After a few minutes of debating whether to run or not Roxanne realized the woman was talking to her.**

"**-Help you with Miss?" The blond asked. "Hello? Are you alright?"**

"**Uh, what?" Roxanne asked snapping out of her funk. **

"**What can I help you with?" The woman asked again, much slower.**

"**Um, Are Susan and Baxter Dawson here?" Roxanne asked nervously looking around as if the elderly couple might pop out of the woodwork. The receptionist gave her an odd look, silently asking her business with the innkeepers.**

"**I'm an old student of theirs." Roxanne said deciding to lie rather than explain how she was like an unofficial grandchild to the ex-teachers and technically their goddaughter, but wasn't legally because of an evil scheming piece of-she mentally cut off the thought and focused on the woman again.**

"**I'll check if they're here." She said before walking through a door behind her chair. As soon as she left the room Roxanne ran to a mirror hanging above the fire place across the lobby, dropped her bag by the roaring fire and checked her appearance. Her short hair was sticking up at odd angels due to the helmet, she looked much more exhausted than she felt, half the collar of her leather jacket was sticking straight up and she could feel the layer of dirt clinging to her skin. Normally she didn't mind the dirt but she hadn't seen the Dawson's in eight years and wanted to look semi-decent. She quickly combed her fingers through her hair and smoothed it down, fixed the collar of her jacket, then used her powers to remove the dirt from her face and hands and sent it out the door, into the street. She was trying to think of a way to make her scars less noticeable when she heard two people enter the room behind her and one of them clear their throat. She quickly shoved her scarred hands into her pockets as she spun around on her heel to find a much greyer version of Susan and Baxter Dawson standing by the reception desk. **

"**Dear," Mrs. Dawson said-just as kind as Roxanne remembered. "Do you think you could step away from the fire? It's casting a shadow over you and we can't tell who you are."**

**Roxanne mentally slapped herself foe her mistake and nodded and spoke her voice shaking. "Of-of c-course."**

**Roxanne scowled. Why is it that she could address hundreds of powerful, unruly teenagers without flinching and yet she adopted a stutter when in front of the only two people in the world she still trusted? **_**Pathetic, **_**she growled mentally. She cleared her throat and began again as she edged away from the fire. "I'm not really an ex-student of yours, but you **_**do **_**know me. You many not recognize me right awa-"**

**Roxanne was cut off by a sharp gasp and an expletive. Mrs. Dawson had a hand covering her mouth and Mr. Dawson's eyes were as wide as dinner plates, his mouth working furiously as if he was trying to speak, both wore matching expressions of shock.**

"**Roxanne?" Mr. Dawson asked a moment, his voice quite and astounded. "Little Roxie Stryker? Is that you?"**

"**Hi Mr. and Mrs. D. long time no see, eh?" She offered with a sheepish grin. Tears welled up in Mrs. Dawson's eyes as she and Mr. Dawson quickly made their way to Roxanne, who moved to meet them. The moment she was within grabbing distance Mrs. Dawson seized the teen in a hug and held her tight as Mr. Dawson placed a hand on both their shoulders. **

**I can't believe it, it's really you." The elderly woman whispered as the tears flowed down her cheeks and Roxanne returned the hug. **

"**When he took you away all those years ago we thought we'd never see you again." Mr. Dawson's voice was thick with emotion as he spoke.**

"**Neither did I." Roxanne said. "But we won't have to worry about that anymore. I can come and go as I please now."**

**Mrs. Dawson let go of Roxanne to wipe her tears away and looked up at the teenager with a smile, when her husband spoke softly. "You look so much like your father. They hair they eyes, even the-"**

"**Oh my word! Roxanne Megan Stryker **_**what**_** have you done to your hair? And **_**how on earth **_**did you get so many scars?" Mrs. Dawson demanded instantly shifting into mothering mode when she noticed how the ends of the teen's hair barley reached the nape of her neck and the pale scars that marred her skin that wasn't covered up.**

"**uh...I got it cut." Roxanne said finding her boots **_**very **_**interesting. **_**Has that scuff on the right toe always been there?**_

"**I can see **_**that**_**." Mrs. Dawson said placing her hands on her hips. "But why?"**

"**It was necessary?" The Geomancer offered, grinning weakly.**

"**But you had such long, beautiful hair." The older woman said disapprovingly. "And don't think I've forgotten about the scars! What happened? You look like you were in an explosion."**

_**If only you knew.**_** Roxanne thought as Mrs. Dawson began tilting her head this way and that to better observe the blemishes as Mr. Dawson took her right wrist and pulled her hand from her pocket to examine the marks that covered her knuckles.**

"**Been in a few fights, Roxie?" He asked raising an eyebrow.**

"**A fair few." She affirmed. The teen sighed and dragged a hand down her face. "It's all related actually to why I'm here and not with Dolore. It's a kinda long story so I think we should sit down before I start."**

**The trio sat by the fire and Roxanne began the same tale that she told the others, starting with when she went with Dolore. She was completely honest with the Dawson's though she made sure to down play the danger she was often in and harsher aspects of The Base. She **_**completely **_**skipped over the tattoo her jacket sleeve was hiding and how she now had her Father's motorcycle. After all she didn't care if they knew about what training she had given and received but if they found out she had been tattooed by that mad man when she was only nine **_**and**_** she drove a motorcycle across the country, under a fake driver's license no less...all hell would break loose. The elderly couple listened intently as Roxanne spoke and when she finished they didn't speak for a few minutes, taking some time to let everything Roxanne had said sink in. After a moment Mrs. Dawson stood and hugged Roxanne.**

"**I'm so sorry you've had to go through all that, sweetheart. But at least the worst is behind you now." She said as she released the girl.**

"**What do you plan to do now though? Are you going to stay in Bridgeport or go back to Fort Collins?" Mr. Dawson asked.**

"**Neither." Was the quick answer. "Going back to Colorado would be too painful and I can't stay here because Dolore would find me and send a team to take me back. I have a pretty substantial supply of money so I think it would be best if I keep traveling. I have the motorcycle now so it-"**

**Roxanne froze when she realized her mistake. "Crap" She muttered**

"**What do you mean you have a **_**motorcycle**_**?" Mrs. Dawson asked in an icy tone. Roxanne blushed and gave a nervous laugh.**

"**Well, remember that Harley my dad had?"**

"**Yes, we remember the death trap." Mr. Dawson said his tone as disapproving as his wife's.**

"**Um...it's mine now and I've been riding it. Actually, that's how I got here." **

"**But you're only sixteen, that's barely old enough to get a permit let alone a driver's license." Mr. Dawson said. Roxanne rubbed the back of her neck nervously.**

'**Well, to you two I'm sixteen but to anyone else who asks I'm nineteen." She explained.**

**You have a fake driver's license?" Mrs. Dawson said horrified.**

"**Uh...**_**licenses. **_**I actually have three; I just prefer the one that says I'm nineteen." Roxanne admitted.**

"**Why three?" Mr. Dawson questioned. "Wouldn't one suffice?"**

"**Each one has a different age, name and state of residence one it. I have one that says I'm nineteen year old Samantha Green from Texas, another says I'm a twenty-one year old from New York named Elizabeth Downey and the last one is from California for Jane Swift and says I'm twenty-five."**

"**Who in their right mind would believe you're twenty-five? You would barely pass for eighteen in my book." **

**Roxanne smiled at the ex-teachers. "True, but you've known me for most of my life. And I suppose the scars help me look older." She shrugged. **

"**How can you be so nonchalant about them?" Mrs. Dawson said taking Roxanne's hand and running her fingers over the scarred knuckles. "They must have been so painful..." **

"**They were at one point but now...I guess I kinda see them not as flaws, but something that tells you who I am." After thinking for a few more minutes both the Dawsons nodded, as if they under stood.**

The image faded as Abe looked up to see emerald eyes looking back at him. He noticed he was once again still holding her hand in his but instead of releasing it he gently traced the marks on the back of her hand. "They tell others who you are?"

She smiled at the contact. "Yes. Look at them and tell me what you see, how do you think I got each one? How are they different? What does each one lead you to believe about me?"

He continued to run his fingers over her hand, learning the contour of each scar before speaking. "The ones on your knuckles are from fighting, hitting things, people. That tells me you know how to defend yourself. This one here," He flipped her hand over and caressed a jagged scar that ran down from the base of her index finger and curved up toward her thumb.

"Some kind of tool accident, most likely a screwdriver. So you've spent a large amount of time building things." He ran his hand up to her wrist, and Roxanne removed the granite to reveal her forearm. Abe couldn't help but notice the slight shudder she gave when his cool fingers closed gently around the discoloration that ran in a ragged circle around her wrist. "You have these on both wrists and they appear to be from friction burns, but they've faded quite a lot. That leads me to believe that you were regularly put under restraints and you struggled against them. Which makes me think that you were...tortured, but because of the fading it shows it was years ago."

Abe's next stop was Roxanne's mid-forearm where a cordlike track wound twice around it. "A defensive wound," He murmured more to himself that to Roxanne. "From something like a whip or chain. But it wasn't yourself you were defending, was it? You would have just moved but...you were protecting someone else, weren't you?"

Abe looked up at Roxanne, who nodded. "My second in command favored physical punishment as a means of discipline. I was walking by when a new recruit dropped his gun during a drill; Hyde was on him instantly, him and his stupid whip. The recruit was nine years old at the most and...He reminded me so much of Patrick..." She looked down and swallowed before speaking. "So I stepped in. I made Hyde stand down and started keeping more of an eye on him after that." Roxanne finished as quietly as she began; it appeared she was having difficulty controlling her breathing as she spoke. Abe nodded when something else caught his eye. He lifted his hand and gently tilted Roxanne's head so that the right side of her jaw caught the light. A slim, white scar began just below her ear, ran under the corner of her jaw and continued on the underside of her jaw-directly against the bone-where it ended just before the curve of her chin. With all of Abe's medical experience he could easily tell how the young woman had acquired that particular injury, and he noted how it was placed in such a way that you wouldn't notice it unless you were looking for it. That reaffirmed Abe in his conclusion that someone had carefully placed it there.

"A scalpel." He whispered, stroking the raised skin, completely unaware of the effect his touches were having on Roxanne. "This was made by a practiced hand with a scalpel...you truly were tortured, weren't you?"

"It's not as bad as you think." Roxanne's voice was shaking. "This was from the beginning of my rebellious days. And trust me when I say, I gave as good as I got." She gave a low chuckle. "I don't think Hyde's nose will ever be the same."

The Ichthyo Sapien's hand followed the contours of the scar along Roxanne's jaw then came to rest on her cheek. He lifted his eyes slightly and saw her's were close as she breathed deeply. "Are you alright Roxanne?"

She swallowed thickly. "Yes, it's just...I've never let...I mean, no one's ever..." She took a deep breath before trying again. "They're very sensitive."

It was when Roxanne opened her eyes and he was faced with two shining emeralds that he noticed how close they were to each other.

Abe was fascinated, he before only saw them as scars, deformities, now he realized they told a story, Roxanne's story. In a few short minutes of observing her scars he had learned more about Roxanne's character than he would have in an entire day's worth of conversing. She was creative, strong, and stubborn to a fault, she could be a savior or a terror, too strong willed to ever be broken, and at times she was infuriatingly defiant. He had garnered this and more for his examination. Abe opened his mouth to speak but for once he found words had deserted him so he decided to follow his instincts. Without any hesitation Abe leaned forward and wrapped Roxanne in his arms. He felt her entire body stiffen at the contact before relaxing into his arms and returning his embrace. She rested her head against his shoulder and Abe could tell through their still linked minds she knew what he was trying to convey through the hug.

The two remained like this for an unknown period of time when a topic Abe had been thinking of earlier came to mind. One he felt was serious and needed to be discussed. And though he hated to spoil the moment, now seemed like the time to do it as she seemed much more open than before.

"Roxanne?" He said gently.

"Hmm?" Was the content response.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you about something else." He was unsure of how exactly to begin. "It's rather important." Roxanne shot up out of his arms and looked Abe in the eye giving the psychic her undivided attention.

"What's wrong?" She asked immediately, he could sense her mind jumping to horrible conclusions.

"Oh nothing! Everything's fine." He assured, pushing away his thought about how he missed the contact they had just shared. "There's just something I'd like to propose to you."

"I'm listening." Roxanne said relaxing again.

"Well you see, the mishap with the tank yesterday could have been a lot worse than it was."

"True." She said with a nod.

"Also there may be missions where prolonged exposure to bodies of water and or swimming is required."

"You don't suppose I could skip those?" She gave him a lopsided grin. Abe shook his head.

"So, I think it would be in your best interest if you became more comfortable around water."

"I agree, but how? If you recall I'm not exactly excited about jumping into water." She blushed and looked away while speaking.

"Well, I would be more than happy to teach you how to swim if you like."

"You don't have to do that, I don't want to burden you." She protested. "I could go and-"

"But I'd like to." Abe cut in. "That way it's someone you know teaching you, the lessons can be schedule around missions and the pond around back is perfect for learning to swim."

"And you wouldn't mind?"

"Not at all."

"When do you think we should start then?" She asked with a slight smile.

"I'm guessing you don't own a bathing suit," Abe said, to which Rose nodded.

"But I'm going shopping with Liz today, so I'll just pick one up then."

"Liz is taking you shopping?" He tried to hide his disbelief.

"Yeah, apparently my clothes are "too ratty even for her"."

"What time are you going at?" He asked.

"About noon. And I have _no_ idea when we'll be back."

"How about tomorrow then? Around two? That way the water can warm up."

"Sounds good. Though, I probably won't be a very eager student." Roxanne said looking away. Abe placed a hand on her shoulder and opened his mouth to respond when Liz walked in followed by Red. Roxanne stood and Abe followed out of habit.

"Hey Abe, hey Roxanne," Liz said. She turned to the brunet. "Ready to go?"

"Yup." Roxanne then turned back to Abe and hesitated a moment before wrapping her arms around Abe's waist in a surprise hug. He started then immediately returned the embrace, disregarding that his friends were in the room and smirking at them. He _did _however, notice Hellboy lean over and whisper something to Liz, who nodded back. After a moment Roxanne pulled back and looked down blushing.

"I'll uh, see you when I get back Abe." She smiled at him and the Ichthyo Sapien felt the corners of his mouth twitch briefly.

"What? Don't I get a hug?" Red demanded, smirk still in place. Roxanne merely grinned, rolled her eyes and smacked him on the arm. "Bye you Big Red Monkey."

"Alright we'll be back in a few hours." Liz addressed the boys. "You guys need anything?"

"Yeah, pick me up some Baby Ruths and uh..." Red cast a sidelong glance at Abe. "That _other _thing."

Liz nodded. "Anything for you Abe?"

"No thank you, Liz." He responded. "Have fun ladies."

"Alright then, let's get going." Liz and Roxanne left the library talking about where they were going to go. Abe however did catch Roxanne's last statement before they left earshot and felt the corners of his lips twitch once again at the faint;

"Hey Liz, can I drive...?"

Abe turned to Hellboy-who was still smirking. "Why are you staring at me?"

"You know for a guy who can't smile, you sure seem to be doing it a lot."

Abe scoffed. "That's preposterous and you know it."

"Hey, whatever you say Abe. Whatever you say." He held his hands up in mock surrender, a smirk gracing his features.

"I know that look, what are you planning?"

"Nothing at all Blue." The smirk turned into a grin and Abe became twice as suspicious.

"It better not be another prank, you remember what Liz said about your little feud."

"Oh I'm done with pranks. Hey, what do you say to a little remodeling planning?" Abe went to question his brother further when Johann walked in holding several rolled up papers.

"Ah, Agent Hellboy, Agent Sapien, I knew I vould find you here. I brought ze blueprints for ze children's room, are you ready to vork on zem?" The medium placed the blueprints on one of the desks and began to spread them out.

"Right, let's get to work!" Hellboy walked over to Johan at the table. "I have two bundles of joy to prepare for!"

Abe sighed and joined the others; he would just have to wait to see what Hellboy was planning. But for now, he had to help plan the home of his soon arriving nieces or nephews.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**5:47 P.M.**

Abe, Hellboy and Johan were still pouring over the plans for the nursery when they heard familiar voices coming down the hallway.

"-Red would have liked them too." That was definitely Liz's voice.

"I know, but it's best to wait until right before the birth to buy cribs." Apparently the Pyromancer and Geomancer were debating something about cribs for the twins.

"Why is that exactly?" They were right outside the library and the pseudo architects had stopped what they were doing to listen.

"Well, it seems every week there's some type of change. Like "the new model is less bulky", "The last released product had some kind of defect" or "looks at all the new stuff this one does!" I think it would make the most sense to wait a while." Roxanne and Liz entered the room, each carrying a few bags from various stores and apparently oblivious to the men in the room.

"And when did you become the authority on all things infant?" Liz scoffed as she sat down on a couch.

"Never said I was, but that's how it is with all kinds of markets, every six weeks they find some kind of fatal flaw in the design and order a complete re-haul on everything. You have no idea how many times I've had to work on my bike because some new set of "safety regulations"." She made her way over to the far wall and began to peruse the books there.

Liz rolled her eyes. "I'll think about it." She then looked up and noticed the boys. "What are you guys up to?"

"Nothin' much." Red walked over and joined Liz on the couch, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "How was your trip, ladies?"

"Terrifying." Liz deadpanned. "Never get into a car with Roxanne at the wheel."

"Hey!" Came the indignant shout from across the room. "There is nothing wrong with the way I drive!"

"I don't know Roxanne..." Abe joined the conversation from the desk. "If you drive a car like you do a motorcycle then I have to agree with Liz."

"Et tu, Abraham?" Roxanne gasped and placed a hand over her heat. "I honestly don't see what the problem with my driving is."

"You speed, weave in and out of traffic, disregard most stop signs and try to beat the red lights. I'm surprised we didn't crash."

"I was taught _tactical driving, _I specialized in _tactical driving_. Meaning lots of swerving and speeding but you get to your destination in one piece." Roxanne plopped down in the armchair, new book in hand. "Besides I've not only, never had an accident but I've never had a ticket. Quite an impressive record considering I've been driving since I was ten."

"Ticket or no ticket, you're not driving me anywhere ever again." Liz shot back. Roxanne opened her mouth to reply when the mission alarm cut through the air.

"Alright, time to go." Hellboy stood, helping Liz to her feet. Roxanne grinned at Abe as everyone made their way out of the library.

"My first mission with you guys. This should be fun."

* * *

**A/N: **Hey, sorry that it's been an entire year since I updated but things are really busy. So **I'm sorry to say this story is now on hiatus. **Sorry to disappoint but at least there's a new chapter. Feel free to PM/review me your outrage.

**-UpInArms100**


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